Diabolik Lovers: Demon Exploit
by winterartino
Summary: While Yui lives and suffers her fate at the hands of the Sakamaki brothers, something else is going on. Unbeknownst to them is the true nature of the Mukami family. Not only they have half-vampires. There is also their sister, who isn't a vampire. As they go on with their daily life, even this sister has things that only she knows. The world of demons and vampire hunters.
1. Chapter 1: Maeki of the Mukami Family

**Mukami Fuyuki**

_Dull eyes. _

_What do they tell you?_

* * *

"_Maeki!"_

_The seemingly gloomy girl turned around to face a boy of her age, with the same hair and eye colour as her. He happily ran towards her, excited._

"_I got a new name!"_

"_So, it's not Ruki anymore?" she asked curiously._

"_No, but... a new surname!He said enthusiastically. "It's Ruki! Mukami Ruki!"_

"_Hey, I got a whole new name, y'know," a brown-haired boy steps up towards them, along with another two._

"_Mukami Yuma…" the girl recited. "So, I assume it's the same for the rest of you."_

"_That's right! You too!" Kou exclaimed._

"_Me…?" she mumbled._

"_Your surname's Mukami now. We're family!" Kou continued._

"_Hm, sounds nice," she giggled. "I assume we have our own roles as a family."_

"_Roles?" Yuma scratched his head._

"_Boss will tell you soon," she answered._

"_That reminds me…" Azusa said. "You're not vampires like us, right?"_

"_Ah, correct. I was made...something else," the girl replied, a shadow casted upon her face. "You'll find out during the full moon."_

Opening her eyes to the moonlight, a teenage girl wakes up to a dream, one that reflected her past. The Mukami household was quiet today, too. The moon looked down upon her through the clear glass windows.

"Sinister." She mumbled while rubbing her eyes.

Her room was of a modest size, with wooden flooring and furniture, giving it a very homely feel. It was kept neat and simple, not with many things laying around. The single sized bed had a wooden frame with white covers, at the far corner of the room. Opposite it was her study table with neatly stacked music sheets beside a laptop. A guitar was sitting by the table, along with an amplifier and recording equipment.

It got dark quickly today. It was raining, after all. Looking at her clock, she got up and changed into her school uniform. She was clearly late for definitely screamed at her face to wake up but she probably didn't budge at all. Not that she heard him, though. The girl, known as Fuyuki, dragged her feet out of her apartment esque room. Outside her door revealed the long gloomy hallways of the mansion, with a rather modern design compared to her warm, comfy room. She headed down the sadly long stairs, taking her own time walking to the dining table. The male who looked like her, Ruki, frowned at her absolutely late arrival.

"Fuyuki! You're late! I even shouted in your ear and shook you hard but you didn't react at all!" He reprimanded.

Though he did just scold her, he and the rest of his brothers grew a bit concerned.

"It's almost the full moon. I hope it'll be better this time…" Kou's eyed the sleepy girl with concern. "Maeki, maybe you should ask 'him' to halt your jobs for the time being."

The rest except her agree.

"Not this time." She said, a faint smile on her face.

Her brothers become bothered by her response but leaves her to her eat their breakfast- though it should be dinner for the normal people out there.

"Full moon, eh," Fuyuki mumbled. "Yuma, I'm a bit more concerned about you…"

"Eh? I'm fine! Much more fine than you are, at least!" Yuma exclaimed while stuffing a tart into his mouth.

"Yuma, you'll choke if you do that." Ruki reminded Yuma of his behaviour.

"Righhhtttt." Yuma replies along with sticking out his tongue.

"But last time you kind of went crazy…" Azusa recalls. "You just went berserk."

"Ugh, I'll be fine." Yuma scoffs.

"Not so sure about that," Maeki commented, a little amused at his annoyance.

"Says you!" He proceeded to pull her cheeks.

"Warghh…!"

"Ahem." Ruki clears his throat, getting his siblings attention. "Anyway, 'that person' has told us about his plan."

"I don't really get it though…" Kou scratched his head in confusion.

"Fuyuki, you're not involved in it, so please concentrate on taking care of yourself," Ruki advised as he look at the bored girl's way. Her half-closed eyes widen a little.

"Eh? Boss said my jobs from now on are related to plan though," she said to the extremely surprised Ruki.

"What is he thinking…" Ruki mutters.

After their breakfast, the Mukami siblings head towards school.

In school, Fuyuki, goes by her original name- Maeno Fuyuki instead of the surname Mukami, to avoid suspicion and curiosity from outsiders. They bump into Reiji, who greets them. The men start talking, leaving the lone girl to do her own activities. With a guitar on her back, she headed for the music room where supposedly no one should be at now. Not her band members, at least. She opened the door and closed it behind her, only to find a sleeping figure on the piano.

"Shuu." She called out to the resting Sakamaki, who peeks through an open eye at the familiar monotonous voice.

"Oh, it's just you…" he mumbled, rubbing his tired eyes. "You're early for practice today."

"My brothers had something to do this morning and I wanted to practice by myself a little earlier, so I came with them." She answered truthfully, but not revealing their names.

"I see. Then, can you play something for me?" The classic music lover asks.

"I thought you weren't really fond of rock music."

"Just today,"he says. "I'm bored."

The young guitarist obliges, picking her guitar after removing it's case, connecting it to the amplifier.

_Can you remember,_

_That moment where everything faded in flames_

_Clouding those eyes forever?_

_Can you remember,_

_The time when we would laugh_

_Genuinely together?_

_..._

_"Nanimo oboete nai yo,_

_Kimi ni gomenasai ne"_

_Sono kotoba kiteta toki, _

_Kokoro ga gucha gucha ni na te ta_

_..._

_Iitai yo, tsurai yo._

_Doshite kimi ga ikiteru no?_

_Sono hono oboeru no?_

_Boku tachi no zenbu,_

_Koroshita _

_..._

_Kawaritai, kawashitai_

_Sono zankoku no kako_

_"Kawaranai, sono monogatari"_

_Sore wa genjitsu, sono mama de iku_

_Mitomete yo, uketome yo_

_Kore wa bokura no_

_Archive of Life_

"How was it? I made that song." Maeki swayed her pick back and forth.

"...great." Shuu's clearly astounded face was facing the still expressionless face of the guitarist.

The door then opened up with a loud bang.

"Maeno-san, it was fantastic!" A green-headed male student exclaimed.

With a proud, gleaming smile on his face, the junior marched towards the side of the room, taking his bass guitar out for practice.

"The others are at the hallway. The concert is soon after all, can't help but be excited!" He jumped up and down, obviously unable to wait for the day to come.

"Takano-kun, calm down," With a bored tone, Fuyuki settled him down.

"We're here, let's start practice," a brown headed girl informed them of her and another student's arrival.

Shuu sneaked away during their conversation, seeing that he had finished his business in the music room.

At another place, involving only one side of another family. Komori Yui, an unfortunate girl, was being double-teamed by two of her housemates at the currently deserted stairway.

"Mfu. Bitch-chan as flustered and cute as always~" Raito hummed, licking her ear.

Yui trembled at the feeling, her eyes watering up in fear. She wanted to run and escape to somewhere far away from the Sakamaki mansion. Mistreated and disrespected. There were no ends to their torture and harassing. But she wasn't powerful enough to do anything much. All she could manage was to tolerate them and survive, to look at the positive things in life- a teaching of her religion she keeps. Once human and now reduced to a vampire. Yui held herself to stop shaking and to keep her composure- it didn't work out well for her though. Ayato glared at his brother, a glint of anger in his eyes.

"She's mine. Go away." He demanded.

Raito giggled at Ayato's possessiveness, understanding Yui's place in him.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Just wanted to have my fun~" He took a step back and suddenly moved forward, planting a kiss on Yui's cheek.

"Bye bye, Bitch-chan~"

Yui's face turned totally red as she rubbed her right cheek where Raito had kissed her. She looked up to unfortunately see an enraged looking Ayato, who immediately pinned her to the wall.

"How dare you pay more attention to him, Chichinashi!" He growled.

He opened his mouth to reveal his sharp, vampiric fangs and set it on her neck.

"You'll learn that ore-sama is the superior one."

Yui, sick of the ways that her current boyfriend had been treating her, unleashed her rage. She violently pushed him away, causing his fangs to graze a part of her skin. Her previously frightful eyes turn into ones that are full of fury.

"Why can't you show at least a little concern for me?!" She yelled at the surprised vampire, who was still frozen from shock. "I'm sick of it! Where's my freedom? Where's my rights? Don't just treat me like an object! Just...just… leave me alone already!"

The blonde girl took her chance to run and escape from him, though in tears. Ayato watched her disappear from the hallway, leaving him thudding on the floor, alone. He sat down, looking at his feet. His mind was boggling with questions.

"Just how do I treat her right, then?" He asked to no one in particular.

It's still rather early in the evening, just slightly past six, when classes haven't started and club members gather for their practices and events. It's a rather peaceful one at that, which fits Maeki's mood during her music practice. Her band consists of herself the guitarist, Minami Takano the bassist, Inui Momoka the drummer and Rito Kouji the second guitarist. They all can do vocals, each of them having their own showtime in the concert.

"Break time, five minutes," Kouji requested.

The rest agree, placing down their instruments and plopped themselves on the cooling couch.

"Ahh, summer is so hot..." Takano grumbled as he wiped away his sweat.

"You don't say," Momoka gulped an entire bottle of water instantly, proving her point.

"Hey, why don't I feel the fan blowing?" Kouji asked as he brings out a pack of ice from the fridge.

Looking behind, he saw a dark figure, whose hair blew along with the wind. He frowned at the sight of Fuyuki hogging the fan to herself.

"Fuyuki! Don't sit in front of the fan!" He exclaimed.

"Iiiiitsss soooo hoooottt," her voice was choppy from being cut off by the fan.

"Just get out of there!" He yelled in annoyance. "We're all burning too!"

"Fine, fine. Geez, you sound like my eldest brother." Fuyuki complained as she rolled away from her previous spot, as lazy sounding as always.

Just then, a familiar figure barged into the room.

"Komori-senpai?" Momoka's eyes brightened at the sight of the ever popular senior.

"Yui, you don't look good. Have seat." Fuyuki eyed her classmate's face. "I'll make some tea for you."

"Fuyuki, you're unexpectedly sharp." Kouji comments, a little hopeful of his lazy team mate.

"Maeno-san, why not leave the tea to Kouji?" Takano stared at Fuyuki with distrust. "I fear she will mess up, that super laid back woman."

"Surprising fun fact for you: She's great at making tea!" Momoka shifted to make space for Yui.

"EH!? Super surprising!" Takano gasped like a fish. "Maeno-san has something other than musical talent!"

"Are you mocking me?" Maeki gave him a sharp stare, although she didn't sound offended at all.

Yui started laughing at their conversation, making her heart feel a little lighter. She kindly accepted Maeki's tea, a classic Earl Grey. It makes her feel more relaxed, along with the sight she sees outside the window. The sunset can clearly be seen, painting the school's garden in shades of orange. It's summer and is pretty hot but the evening wind is still cooling. It gushes through the open window, blowing in the leaves from outside. A white petal lands on Yui's lap and she smiles. She knew it was for the best that she came here for comfort. Though for a moment, Yui doubted the contents of the tea that was given to her. Reiji drugged her quite a few times, after all.

"Feeling better, senpai?" Momoka held Yui's soft warm hands with concern.

"We'll hear what you have to say. You don't have to if you want," Kouji kindly set a plate of tea cookies in front of her. "Fuyuki made it yesterday, so it's taste-approved."

"She makes cookies too!?" Takano jumped up from his seat.

"Another fun fact: Fuyuki and her eldest brother take turns each week to cook. Or so I've heard from her." Momoka took a cookie and pops it in her mouth. "Yum!"

"Sure is good, isn't it," Yui took a bite of it. "It's just a personal problem with me and a particular someone else."

"Geh geh. Your boyfriend?" Momoka nudged Yui playfully. "Got one eh, wew!"

"Inui-san, it's embarrassing if you say it that way…" Yui blushed.

"It's just that… he's got a temper, you see. He's also rather possessive… I just want to get him to understand that I'd want my own private space too."

"Hmm...why don't you ignore him? Make it less obvious so that he gets that you want to leave him alone for while." Kouji suggested.

"Ah, I'll try that then...I may get in trouble, though." Yui finished her tea and got up from the couch. "Thank you for your hospitality and advice. See you later!"

Yui left and headed for the classroom to get a headstart on the classes later. Fuyuki wass clearly aware the next person who would come to her for a similar advice.

"Let's finish this one song before we leave."

* * *

Band practice was over for the evening. Fuyuki headed to class and settled down on her seat, dropping her head on the table. She was about to fall asleep when a certain someone kicked her seat.

"Ack, what?" She turned her head to see Ayato, who seats beside her.

As she expected, he doesn't seem pretty upbeat today. Instead of the usual playfulness, his eyes are serious.

"Say...how do I er...treat a girl properly?" He asked, looking at the disinterested girl.

"Girlfriend problem? You're too possessive." Maeki pointed out rather harshly of his traits. "Give the lady some space man."

"She'll get touched by some other men!" He exclaimed, agitated.

"You don't trust her enough that she'll push them away?" Maeki processed the insecurities of both sides and noded her head.

"No...it's just that she's just too weak to push them away, so I must monitor her!" He answered.

Maeki threw her head on her desk again.

"You monitor too much, idiot." She grumbled at her classmate's lack of logic.

"Then, what do I do?" He continued, still not understanding Maeki's advice.

"You did something, didn't you?" Maeki menacingly pointed a finger at Ayato. "That means she'll avoid you for a while."

"Seriously?!"

"Yeah. You should just comply with that avoidance for awhile."

"Then?"

"Aha, just kiss her after that to make it clear that you understand. Just don't hurt her as much as you do." She gave the self-centered vampire a sharp gaze. "Watch your violence, sir."

Although in this situation Ayato would've probably dragged the presumably human girl away and drained her of blood, he doesn't do anything but ponders over her words. Ayato squinted his eyes and observed Maeki. She releases a dangerous aura- one of the reasons why he doesn't do anything to her. He doesn't know why, though. His stoic seatmate remains mysterious as always. She smells human but something isn't right, leaving him to shake these thoughts away. The teacher enters the classroom and start homeroom. Maeki shuts her eyes and lulls herself asleep until lessons begin.

"_...uki…"_

"_Fuyuki-chan."_

_The young girl swirls around to face her smiling father._

"_Yes?" She asks innocently._

"_Your birthday is soon, right?" He lightly pats her head._

"_Is that a hint that you'll give me a present?" Young Fuyuki immediately skips to the fun part._

"_Ahaha! Smart as usual. You're correct. So, what do you want?" _

"_Hmm...a watch pendant!"_

"_Oh, you like those? C'mon, let's go buy one, you choose."_

"_After that let's take a picture with mom and slot it inside!"_

"_Right, right."_

***Whack***

"Ouch." Maeki's dream is abruptly interrupted by Kouji, who had just hit her head with a rolled up assignment in his hand.

"I can't believe the teachers let you sleep through this whole time! It's break time right now!" Kouji angrily exclaims at their mentors' lenient ways on her. "Your studies aren't that good for you to fall asleep!"

"Huh…? I'm pretty sure I do fine in studies."

"What was your rank the last time we got exams, then?"

"I forgot."

"It was fine, Rito-kun. She's managing very well, if you ask me. " Yui walks up to them with her trademark gentle smile.

Mesmerized students look at her as if enchanted by a spell, while some start gossiping about when or whether she would get into a relationship. Yui, more widely known as Komori-senpai (despite being her senior or peer) or Onee-san, was popular for her gentle demeanour, her equal respect for people and showing compassion.

"Eh, if Komori-san says so…"

He then notices the watch pendant hanging from Maeki's neck.

"...Let me see what's inside." He commands, suspicious of her and at the same time curious, for she never mentions anything about herself other than what Momoka had mentioned in her "fun facts" earlier. Maeki obliges, revealing an old picture with her original family in it- her father, mother and herself.

"Nothing fun in here." She tells him as she takes out her lunch box. "What are you waiting for? Grab a table."

Maeki blindly eats her food while pondering over the memory.

_I sure was blind to the truth, huh._

* * *

Authors Notes: Sorry for the terrible first chapter, I suck at beginning stories.

Original Characters- Maeno Fuyuki  
Rito Kouji  
Inui Momoka  
Minami Takano

Exciting things don't start from the get-go, do they?


	2. Chapter 2: Yui & Maeki

**Komori Yui**

_A girl whose misery became  
part of who she is._

_Determined eyes._

* * *

The bell chimed, signaling the end of classes. Students were flowing out of classrooms and gathering at the hallways, some leaving immediately to hang out somewhere in the city. The warm air calmed Yui as she took it in and looked to the two band members way. She giggled to herself as she watched them converse.

"It's way too hot..." Fuyuki complains as she wiped her sweat with her sleeve.

Yui questioned why males don't approach Maeki. She had beautiful long flowing grey hair that reached out to her back and it was curly at it's tip. Her fringe was a straight cut that were slightly above her eyebrows, to avoid blocking her eyes. Her eyelashes were long and she also had smooth pale skin. Maeki was taller than average Japanese women, her height was 167cm. Her figure was pretty nice: she had more bust than Yui herself, at least.

Perhaps it was because she's pretty lazy. Her uniform consisted of the school's white dress shirt and vest, topped by her own green hoodie that is left half unzipped. She wore black and white stripped leggings that reached above her knee, a pendant dangling from her neck. Yui noted that Maeki ignored the ribbons and blazer. Upon further inspection, she noticed that her skirt was modified, or rather, remade with a different material so she could move easy.

She wore these since her first day of school, and as time passed the teachers gave up on her wearing the proper school attire. Cutting out Yui's concentration on Fuyuki's appearance was Kouji dragging her out of the classroom, while she desperately holds onto her guitar, whining how tsundere Kouji is till he deliberately conked her head onto the lockers in embarrassment. Yui's smile is turned it to a grimacing expression when Ayato steps in front of her, blocking her view.

"Chichinashi, what're you staring at?" He smirks while inspecting the timid girl's face. He takes a peek at the noisy hallway to see his seat-mate being dragged on the ground. Noticing his stare,a quirky grin forms on the girl's face whilst waving at him. Ayato wonders what problems she has in the head to act like this.

"You lookin' at Weirdoyuki? Heh, you better not lose a screw in a head like her." He scoffs while closing an eye, watching Yui look down upon the floor.

"You're so mean...she isn't THAT weird. I mean, she's nice and gives advice..." Yui mutters softly. She looks up to see Ayato glaring at her. She squirms back and decides to stay silent, seeing that the red-headed vampire would get angry if she spoke even more. Ayato ponders over what 'Weirdoyuki' had told him earlier. He grits his teeth in anger, remembering how rude she was with him. Her mono-toned voice, the way she pointed a finger at him and the fact she seems to know that Yui is on the other side of the relationship...

"Tch, let's just go home." He spits to the side as he proceeds to pull Yui along with him.

"Huh? Wa-wait! I...I want to do something in school first..." Yui stutters as she attempts to pull her hand back. Unfortunately, Ayato's grip becomes harder and she flinches in pain.

"Huh?! Ore-sama's words are absolute!" He snaps at her disobedience. Soon Fuyuki's voice starts ringing in his head.

_You're too possessive. Watch your violence, sir. Don't hurt her as much as you do._

You don't trust her enough that she'll push them away?

"That damn Weirdoyuki!" Ayato shakes his head vigorously to mute Maeki's voice. "Telling me weird things...I don't get her!"

"A-Ayato-kun!" Yui yelps as Ayato lost his grip on her and pushed her away.

"Gah! I don't care anymore, do whatever you want!" He stormed off, trying to clear his mind in a mess.

Yui sighs as she watches the Ayato leave. A small smile was brought back to her face when she reminded herself of what she wanted to do. She headed towards to music room, passing by Laito who was about to grab her, but missed as Yui started moving faster. She hadn't noticed his presence and was a bit too excited for this expedition. The sounds of drums being hit and guitars playing grew louder. She was going to watch the band's after-school practice and considered joining since they welcomed a keyboardist, but Reiji's face flashes in her mind. The smile is wiped off her face as she remembered Reiji's scoldings and the moments where he drugged her. Brushing these thoughts aside, she opened the door of the music room.

"Ah, you're here." Kouji kindly smiled at Yui, who blushed back.

Rito Kouji, argubaly the most popular member out of his four band members. Momoka was well known among her peers for being a drummer and for her friendliness, Takano was well liked among the 3rd years for his child-like appearance and personality and Maeki...well, she's the infamous 2nd Year Student who breaks school rules like breathing in air. Kouji was serious yet kind and polite. A person who carries out his responsibilities dutifully and diligently. He would treat anyone gently and nicely, with the exception of Maeki.

She brought out a true prospect in him, the fact that he was actually a man who was easily upset and only that, he also had a nice face. He had naturally smooth dark blue hair coupled with his warm brown eyes. Unlike Maeki, his uniform is worn prim and proper, just that he had removed his blazer due to the heat. Yui notes his slender fingers unlike Ayato's rough ones. She also notices Fuyuki's green hoodie beside his blazer.

"Yeah. Am I a disturbance?" Yui asked as she starts to worry.

"To the keyboard, please." Takano gestured her towards the empty seat in front of the electronic instrument.

"Eh?! I can't possibly be good enough for you guys..."

"Just today if you please." Fuyuki set the keyboard up. "I know you're rather uptight about what you do after school."

Yui gulps anxiously as a pair of greyish blue eyes stared at her, as if looking at her very soul. Her staying with the Sakamakis was a secret. Despite Maeki's absolute ignorance towards everything, Yui knew when her classmate was interested in something, she'd investigate and research every nook and inch of it. Her skill with the guitar and composing skills were a prime example. The blonde girl didn't want Fuyuki to develop an interest in whatever revolves around the Sakamakis, for her own safety.

At the keyboard, Yui started playing it mindlessly and almost stopped in shock when the other instruments followed. A new feeling flushed over her. It was as if she were in another world, one void of vampires and where it was peaceful yet eventful with all sorts of excitments. She wanted to join really badly, seeing that even a concert was coming up for them. Maybe if she asked Reiji she would be able to join them. Happily, Yui joins the band for the rest of their practice, engulfing herself in all sorts of music and fun interactions. It was soon 2 a.m. when band practice was over, reminding Yui that it was time to return to _hell_. She jumps, alarmed when Momoka's hand taps her shoulder, breaking her train of thoughts.

"Oh, Komori-senpai's pretty sensitive, huh." Momoka said while laughing. She then pointed towards two complaining people. "Listen to them."

"Ahhh, Rito-senpai we worked hard today so let's go get some parfait~" Takano nudged Kouji as he let out an annoyed grunt.

"Kouji, we got to keep off the heat, y'know? You might die from heat stroke if you don't take a chill pill~" Maeki chided as she cleaned his guitar. "See, I'm helping you clean this up cause you suck at it, so go with it man."

"You just mocked me and you expect me to do as you say?!" He yelled. "I bet you guys just want me to pay!"

A wide grin appears on both Takano's and Maeki's faces.

"Yeah." They said in unison.

They cover the tops of their heads in preparation for Kouji's fist but all they got was an exhausted sigh. They looked at him in confusion.

"Ugh, fine. What're you waiting for, let's go." His hand reached out to his guitar and he started packing his things.

"Komori-senpai, are you coming?" Momoka asked, her eyes sparkling brightly.

"Hn, sure!" Yui exclaims. Her junior then a tackled a hug at her before helping her up. After all, hanging out with friends after school once in a while wasn't too bad. Today was the first time during her days in the Sakamaki mansion that she was able to be free.

...

"Haaaaah? Are you questioning my gaming skills?" Takano pressed on the buttons of his PSvita in quick motion.

"I'll have that grass patch on your head ripped off, garden boy." Fuyuki said as she delived a perfect K.O with an _Astral Finish_*. "_Slashy slashy* _for you."

"Wah...!" Takano frowned in defeat, only to quickly grab his spoon and dig it into Fuyuki's desert.

"I would gladly re-plant that rotten grass. In your head, that is." She said before stabbing Takano's ribs with her fingers. It escalated into an argument, the grey headed senior as mono-toned and her junior snapping back angrily. Yui, Momoka and Kouji peacefully ate their own food while observing them.

"You guys are so noisy..." Kouji grumbled as Momoka giggled at their jabs at each other.

Yui pleasantly smiled at the two and closed her eyes. _Maeno-san has siblings...I wonder how they're like._

* * *

Hesitantly, Yui pushes the mansion door open. She finds Shuu sleeping on the couch and no one else. She silently closes it and tip-toed her way up the stairs. She turns back to see if anyone was trailing her from behind only to bump into someone see most probably didn't want to see at all. Reiji's sharp stare stabs into her guilty conscience. Her face started paling up, afraid of the possible punishments he would give her.

"And could you possibly tell me the reason of your...latecoming?"

"I was with the school's band members." She answered, seeing no reason to lie. Even if she did, no good would've come with it with the fact that only suffering would've come from it.

"So you were hanging out with a group of worthless humans." He pushed up his glasses, still eyeing Yui carefully. "What were you doing with them?"

"I...I played the keyboard for them during their music practice. After it was over at 2 am, we went into the city to eat." By now sweat was falling off Yui's face. Reiji's stare was different from Maeki's, but it was a very similar feeling. Her hard hammered agaisnt her chest, her vision swirling as Reiji kept silent for the while.

"And did someone send you back here?"

"Ah, yes." She timidly replied.

"Who was it?"

"Maeno Fuyuki-san, a classmate of mine. She's Ayato's seatmate." Yui chanted blessings to Maeki for her own safety, seeing that Reiji might have taken an interest in her. Her heart sank when the bespectacled man frowns at the name.

"Maeno? That lazy woman who puts her efforts in that cheap instrument?" Reiji expression has changed into one of annoyance. "Even when her skill should have been put into those chemical bottles in her hands."

"She's good at chemistry, but that what she decided to do." Yui says while remembering one science lesson where Maeki had mixed a few chemicals and let it's cloud of smoke explode in front of Ayato's face (he's her partner since they're seatmates) which made him extremely angry but was stopped by the school nurse, Rainheart. She was glad that Rainheart stopped Ayato because considering Maeki's personality, she wouldn't hesitate to pour that chemical over his head and make him bald.

"I wish to speak of this no longer. Please go back to your room."

"Eh?"

"What is it, you foolish woman. I am letting you off since I don't feel like punishing you today."

"O-okay..."

Yui did not let her guard down after Reiji left. It was simply one of the brothers crossed out from the list, leaving out five other as dangerous ones to pounce on her. Maybe four, since Shuu is sleeping and wouldn't be bothered at all. She carefully passed Laito's room and her steps become slower and even softer as she crossed by Ayato's door. At that very moment his door swings upon, revealing an upset looking Ayato awkwardly facing Yui, who was prepared to slide pass as if nothing happened. Noticing that Ayato was blankly staring at her, she decides to start moving before he snapped out of his trance.

"Ah! Oi, Chichinashi come here!"

Yui was already halfway down the hall by the time he noticed that he had seen her. Remembering what Kouji had said to her, she balantly ignored his call. A dangerous move it was, but she had to do it. Meanwhile, Ayato gets pissed off and starts storming towards Yui, but a wave of words hit him, like an arrow stuck to his head. And that was Maeki's taunting words that swirled round and round in his mind. Like said, Yui was deliberately ignoring him. _What Weirdoyuki said came true! I should just go along with the flow? _

* * *

Back in the Mukami mansion, Fuyuki sneezes several times.

"Maeki, are you okay?" Azusa asks, looking over the kitchen counter.

"Don't get your snot in my food." Yuma eagerly waits for his sweet treats.

"I won't. Just feeling that people've been talking lots about me..." The grey headed said as she sits on the nearest chair, placing the unbaked batter into the oven.

* * *

Authors Notes: This chapter has edgy grammar in terms of tenses, apologies if it has affected your reading. Should Yui be portrayed more differently?


	3. Chapter 3: A Middle School Story

This is a filler...I think. But still, it's pretty important(?) to read this because it's on Fuyuki and Kouji. This is how they met, so on so forth and it's just an ordinary story of two teenagers. Weird since DL isn't all that normal but Fuyuki lead her life much more different than the other so :/ Also, I'm calling Maeki by her proper name now because it feels more appropriate. Her nickname is something used only in her family, so I decided not to use it so much.

Characters are OOC? Most probably Q,Q

* * *

Chapter ?: Scoreboard

Timeline: Middle School, Third Year

It was April, the beginning of spring as well as a new year in school. Fuyuki sat at her seat, looking out of the window as she placed her head on her right hand. She sat right in the middle of the classroom, though she would have preferred the sides, but that didn't matter. Actually, everything didn't matter. Being the only one who managed to set free into the world for Middle School, she felt a bit left out and lonely because she lacked actual social interactions other from her family, the servants, her "master" and the people who would spar with her. It was math class and the teacher was handing out the test papers and the unbothered Fuyuki took hers, seeing the numbers 70 written in red on her paper. On her left, towards the window, a male classmate groaned in disappointment, earning a sharp warning from the old vixen, causing the rest of the class to laugh. The average was 60 and he clearly didn't make it. After the slight commotion she turned her head back to the board where the teacher started announcing the class rankings for this test. As someone who didn't care about placings unlike a _certain son_ of her boss, or so she heard, Fuyuki began to ponder over her last _report _. Did she finish it up properly? Reminding herself to organise the information she received from her latest _client _, the girl sighed. She then felt a slight tap on her shoulder and she turned to see Rito Kouji, said seatmate who was disappointed with his results. A clear 35 was seen on it and a hand quickly covered it up. Rito gave her a wide smile, one that was very familiar. It reminded her of Kou and his false pretences, causing the girl to cringe inside.

"Maeno-san, you're pretty amazing, huh. You got a 70!" He said, the grin still plastered on his face. "I could never pull that off."

The grey-headed classmate stared at her doofus seatmate. What did he mean by never? Her brothers fought hard for what they wanted and it was given. Be it jokes or not, she didn't like hearing such calls of failures when nothing had ever started. Fuyuki kept her stone-face while slightly cussing inside, a dark aura radiating from her. Rito shuddered at the feeling, looking into her plain grey eyes with a sudden immense interest. His face lighted up and he put his hands together as if he came up with a brilliant idea.

"I've got a favour to ask you. Would you be my tutor?" He asked whilst looking at the female beside him. Her face was as if she were drained of her soul, empty eyes that continued to stare at the blue-headed boy. _I have not single word to him in my life and in a mere four sentences he has claimed that we are acquainted. Not only that. He's asking me for academic help? He's like a failing Kou duplicate!_

Two students sit in the library, face to face. Rito scratched his chunk of dark blue hair before slamming his face into the book, as he groaned in pain. His grey haired partner silently stared at him with sleep-deprived eyes, it was as if she was awake for 2 days straight. Earlier their teacher had overheard his loud one-sided conversation and pushed the job to the poor 14 year-old student who hadn't spoke a word. Rito had been acting like an idiot for the past one hour and Fuyuki was amazed at how he could keep up with such an obvious farce. Many others of her age wouldn't have noticed but that retarded grin on his face was a absolute give-away. She wanted to slap his face, which she hadn't done to Kou because he was her younger brother and she was to protect her family- no way would she would put a hand to that conceited idol's face. A sakura petal landed on the pile of blue hair, and Fuyuki liked the contrast between the two colours. This was much more peaceful compared to everything else at home and it made her at ease. She reached out her hand to remove it from his head, only for him to grab onto in it suddenly. A dark shade of pink was tinted onto his face, brown eyes full of embarrassment.

"W-w-what were you doing?!" He exclaimed whilst firmly grasping onto her hand which was still holding onto the petal.

"Taking a sakura petal off your head." Fuyuki calmly replied, confused by his reaction.

Noticing that he had been holding onto her hand for a period of time, Rito frantically let go and swung his face the other way. Not wanting to waste time, Fuyuki dragged his notebook towards her to see several wrong answers and doodles. The next page was nothing but a large cross on it. And after that was a scribble of terrible incomprehensible handwriting, causing veins to pop up on her forehead. She was planning to go home that night, take a quick shower before loading her latest save of one of the YS games on her PSvita and all those beautiful plans were destroyed by this dumbass and their cranky old teacher. It was right to call her an old vixen, no doubt. Sure, she was an extremely lazy individual. But seeing this man here made her feel like she needed some stimulation, as if she needed to punch something or stab it several times. It was not some blood-lust during a murdering session, it was pure _annoyance._ She had put up with Ruki's obnoxiousness, Kou's two-faced antiques, Yuma's moments of rage and Azusa's masochism, but an ordinary idiotic human was enough to temper her mind. She cracked her knuckles to calm down before looking up to face Rito again, who turned back to face her at the same time. Fuyuki realises that he has lost his crappy fake smile and it is replaced by a shy look, one that seemed genuine enough to believe.

"Stop looking at me like that, idiot." He huffed as his hands went back to the notebook, earnestly writing down the words this time.

His blushing face and false accusations then reminded her of Yuma who was rather similar. Just that Yuma was rather violent and would trash his beloved vegetable gardens in his rage. Rito's eyes grew wider as he saw a small smile emerge from his seemingly heartless classmate, his eyes peeled on her for that very moment before planting his face on the table again, with smoke coming out from his head. It was the first time he saw another expression other than that straight line on her lips. Seeing this almost made him pass out from embarrassment. Fuyuki hadn't said a word to him at all, but it felt as if she were talking the whole time. He then soon realised that his 'happy student' façade had fallen off and by now it was too late to put it back on. She had seen this side of him and seems much more happier about it. He lightly smiled, truely, before his vision was blocked by a book. He shoved it off to see her hand coming towards him,placing the sakura petal on the tip of his nose.

"Who are you calling an idiot? Go practice already." She said while looking at him with an annoyed expression. The grey-headed girl was replied by a cute laughter that came from the dark-blue haired classmate as he grasped his green hoodie to hold it in. Her first words to him weren't the nicest ones, but it was still something nonetheless.

It was another one of their study sessions. From Fuyuki's observation, Rito had became more hot-headed at her comments, frequently hitting her on the head with his book. He was also easily embarrassed and falters when his quirks are mentioned. When he smiled it was actually calming to look at, since it was not another false doofus grin. He was also improving in his studies, seeing that he tried harder and harder each time they were here. This seat by the window was like their personal one already. Other students would avoid that seat for them and would tell others to leave it alone, too. The seasons had changed and by now it was already autum. The final examination drew closer each day and Rito started to worry about it. He grew more serious each time they gathered and by now it was his tutor who seemed as if she needed some serious detention. As they silently wrote in their notebooks, Rito noticed Fuyuki rubbing her hands together now and then to keep herself warm. She had no sweater, jacker or whatever. Just a short-sleeved dress shirt with the school's thin vest. Looking at himself, he was over-cladded. He wore the same things she did, just that it was topped by his brown low v-neck sweater, his green hooded jacket and his patched up multi-coloured scarf that wrapped tightly round his neck. He considered giving her his scarf, but scratched the idea. She helped him through 2 seasons by showing him his true self, taught him to work hard and improved his academics. It started out with his selfish desire and Fuyuki was around upon the teacher's request. He knew that it was a poor payment, but it should be fine for the time being. Standing from his seat, Rito removed his jacket and placed it over her shoulders, cutting off her concentration.

"...what is this for?" She asked while looking up at him.

Seeing her pretty grey eyes innocently looking up at him, he blushed as he pulled away from her.

"Payment for now. You're cold, right?" Rito said as he covered his face. From the space between his fingers he peeked through, to see the most stunning smile he had ever seen. It was a jaw dropper for him. Beside them the autum leaves dance to the wind, the calming sounds of owls was heard under the half moon. Confused at his embarrassment, Fuyuki titled her head to one side and stared at him, causing Rito to slap her with his scarf.

"Don't look at me like that, idiot." He pouted and swung his head to the right.

The smile was still on the girl's face as she held her pen once more. She flicked the male's forehead, giggling.

"Who are you calling an idiot? Go practice already."

Yet another day of the two hanging out together. But, it wasn't at the library, nor was it for studying. Rito got tired of being too studious and headed for the music room immediately, Fuyuki following him from behind. He opened to door that revealed a large grand piano. Ignoring it, Rito picked up a electric guitar and connected it to the amplifier. A spark of interest could be seen in Fuyuki's eyes as she watched Rito play, his fingers sliding down the strings in quick motion, his other hand swinging up and down while firmly grasping onto the pick. Rito stops as he raises a brow at her passionate stare. She snaps back to life after a few pats on the back, looking at him with the very same eyes. Her usual lifeless grey eyes weren't around, it was bright this time. He uses his chance to finally repay her for all she has done.

"Say, you want to learn how to play the guitar?" Rito asks as he looks at the expectant girl.

"Seriously?" She seemed as if she could blast off to space any moment.

"Payment for all that tutoring." He said as he gestured towards the other guitar in the corner. "I'm sure you'll be quick to pick up on it."

It was still another autum night when it was colder, coming close to the cold winter days. Rito looked forward to throwing those balls of snow into his friend's face to see her reaction. It didn't take him long to blush again as he watched her poke on the strings in curiousity. For the whole time she was the one who knew more, but now he was the one with the experience. A heavy weight is placed off his heart as he pulled out the chord sheet, directing the girl on how to read it.

Timeline: Current

"Zzzzz... ... ... " Fuyuki snores, clearly enjoying herself on the couch. Her peaceful sleep is disturbed by Kouji playing a terrible note on the guitar, releasing a screeching noise that almost made her ears bleed. Sitting up, she rubs her eyes and looks towards the second guitarist of the band.

"Kouji, do you remember what you liked to say?" She asks out of the blue.

"Huh? Last time? Er... what was it..."

Kouji started shifting his feet uncomfortably as Fuyuki bore her grey eyes into him, remaining silent and expressionless. His face grows extremely red before saying.

"Don't look at me like that, idiot."

Closing her eyes, Fuyuki lightly smiles as she held onto her guitar and pick.

"Who are you calling an idiot? Go practice already."

Both of them start band practice by themselves. The first years have a school trip to go to, leaving both of them here. It was a considerable amount of time since they had been like them and this made them feel nostalgic and at ease. Outside the door was a giggling Yui and a bored Shuu.

"It's not good to eavesdrop." Shuu comments as Yui peeks into the music room from a small gap between the doors.

"But they're so cute!" Yui giggled. "Shuu-san is also eavesdropping."

"Hmph. Let's go." Shuu said as he walked away, placing his earbuds back in place.

"Ah, wait for me!"

Looking back, Shuu was reminded of how he met that silly girl in the music room, where it was originally all his till she formed that band. Sighing, he continued walking on with Yui on his back, an image of a rare smile from the dark girl etched into his mind.

* * *

References made would be the YS series (I've only played Memories of Celceta on the PSvita though), it's a great game! Also, in the flashback it says 'Rito' instead of 'Kouji' because that's just showing that they weren't all that close then. No Horror yet? Just wait, though...it wouldn't really be good!


	4. Chapter 4: Behind

**Behind**

_There is always a dark secret behind families.  
Everyone is acutely aware._

* * *

As well as these siblings get along, there's always a perk: their differences. Especially the vampiric brothers of the family. Being selfish is a common trait in the four of them, no doubt. And as vampires, they feed on blood to live. Of course the second oldest child, being the only female and of a different race knew of their twisted lives behind their everyday conversation. It was cruel to feed on these innocent, human women. But it was hypocritical of her to say that, really.

In a trance, a beautiful teenage girl sat on Ruki's bed, quietly staring into the space in front of her. The male himself inspected her carefully. She had reddish-brown hair that reached to her shoulders, straight bangs that covered her forehead. With Ruki's charm she had fallen into a dazed state, her chestnut eyes became blank. A petite, fragile human body she had, seemingly able to break at the touch of her delicate bones. _Livestock are livestocks after all. _Sweeping his grey hair aside, he took a closer look at her, taking a sniff. The sweet, alluring smell came from her, making Ruki lick his lips. It was a treat for him today. _Perhaps...I'll make it fun today. _He opened a drawer, revealing a roll of rope in it. Taking it out, he wrapped it around the girl's hands and legs, as well as blindfolding her. Ready, he snapped his fingers.

"...Huh? It's so dark... wh-where am I?" She muttered, feeling a little dizzy. Shaking her head, she tried moving her arms and feet.

"Wh-why? Why can't I move? Am I...No! Help me, help me!" She shreiked. Ruki chuckled at the scene. It had been quite sometime since he had done something like this. He'd been lazy, simply drinking off them and erasing every track and evidence of it happening. _The rules, the rules...right. Still have to follow them. _He was aware he was going to make a mess today and kept it mind to clean up properly later.

"**Who are you?!**" The girl screamed shrilly. "**I'm just someone ordinary, there's no use in kidnapping me!**"

"Very noisy, aren't you." Ruki sighed, while using his fingers to trace her face. She shivered in fear at his cold touch, choking on her tears.

"**LEAVE ME ALONE! LET ME GO!**" Her cries echoed in the silent room. Hearing her own voice clearly, she wished hard that someone heard her. Anyone would do, she just wanted to be saved. Door knocks were heard.

"Onii-sama, what are you doing? It's soooo noisyyyy~" Kou whined. It was the weekend and the sleepy idol was in his pyjamas, most probably awoken by the noise. "Eh, what's that?"

"Go away, none of your business." Ruki snapped. He didn't have time to deal with annoyances.

"Help! Please help me! I don't know why I'm here...please, please...!" Seeing the human girl beg for her life, Kou's personality flipped. His visible blue eye flashed disgust, but she couldn't see it.

"What did you say, disgusting pig? Are you begging for _my _help?" He said with contempt. The girl whimpered in fear. It didn't take a second for him to smile brightly again as he turned around.

"Maeki~ Onii-sama said not to disturb him~" Kou hummed to his slightly older sister who had been standing behind him since he arrived. She took a peek into the room to see a shivering, tied up girl who was blindfolded. Those grey eyes didn't show any emotion at all, even at the sight before her.

"Can...you help me, miss...?"

"I'm afraid not." Fuyuki replied in monotone. "It is not I who can make such a decision."

"C'mon Maeki, I want you to check out the new stuff my manager got for me!" Kou said excitedly as he pulled Fuyuki along, both of them shutting the door before dissapearing into the hallway. Sadly, the girl silently heard their footsteps fade away. She help more hopeless than she had ever been in her life. Never had she thought that she would be kidnapped and... it was much more terrifying than she ever imagined. Her heart beat faster and faster as she felt a breath on her neck. Cold. A cold feeling of someone's tongue going down from her neck to her collarbone.

"Hrngh...uuuwaaa..." Unable to hide her fear any longer, she had burst into tears. It soaked the blindfold, some of it streaming down her face. And again, that tongue had licked off the tear on her face.

_*bite*_

"**AHHHHHHH! IYYYYAAAAAA! NO! WAHHHHHHH!"**

Ruki harshly bit down on her neck, the blood dribbling down. He slowly licked it off and locked her struggling body down in place on his bed. A circular red mark had stained his plain white bed-sheets, but he could wash it later.

"Does it hurt? Well, I guess the answer is obvious."

It was sastisfying how afraid this girl was. She radiated fear, struggling and fighting as much as she could her life...but she's human after all. Inferior to him in every aspect. Breakable, pitiful prey. Blood, food. Ruki yearned for more.

He dug his sharp fangs into her wounds once more, her screams and cries of agony at it's loudest.

**"AAAAAaaaAAAAaHHHhhhhHHhhHh! GAAAhhhhhhaAHHHHhhHhhhha!"**

"Nnnghh... *slurp* Haaaa..."

She felt the heat in her body fading away. Her conciousness was slipping away slowly and she was waiting to just get knocked out. But everytime she was on the brink of fading out, the excruciating pain would make her more awake than ever. It was as if he knew when she was going to pass out. Vampires. That, too, she'd never think would exist. There wasn't even enough time for her to finish processing her situation in her mind that that vampire sunk his fangs into her again. Her throat hurt from all that screaming.

Tired of feeding off the same spot, Ruki flipped her shirt over. The girl gasped in horror as she felt the chilly air hit her stomach. There several spots of cane marks embroidered all over, some even making beautiful looking images of young animals. Interested, the vampire inspected her more carefully. This had caught his interest.

"Hey, what's with these marks all over your body?"

"...the orphanage I was in did that to me before I was adopted by onii-chan..."

Scared that she would be horribly bitten again, the girl honestly replied to the man. Ruki had stopped his activity in favour of her old scars. Maybe if she were to flip on her back where her tattoo was, he might actually stop all together and she would have a chance to live.

Orphanage. Abused. Adopted.  
Ruki thought of the two large scars on his back; the mark of a livestock. It looked as if he were an angel who lost his wings. As much as he could empathise with her, he didn't decide to finish up just yet. He traced the scars, causing her body to shudder. Smirking, he slowly inserted his fangs into them. In response, the girl let out a wrenched scream.

**"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"**

It was clear that her memories of torture had come flowing back into her. Her beautiful face and clothes kept her broken body undercover... they were all exposed now. The cane that stung her like electricity. The needles that clumsily sewed her wounds together. The burns of the markings on her back.

As she had wished, Ruki flipped her on her stomach, revealing a elaborate tattoo on her back. It was of two swords stabbing into her back, German words encircling around them. The image of chains were clinging close to the back of her neck, tying down onto the weapons. It was an intriguing design indeed.

"And what does this mean?"  
"Death is your master. We are the servants of death."

The tone in her voice changed. It was crisp clear, a respecting fear was ringing in it. She was merely reciting what had been pinned into her mind as a child.

"Hm, I can infer from that."  
"...a living hell, of course...this world would never accept my happiness..."  
"Glad that you know."

And with that, Ruki finished his interrogation.

* * *

"Whhhhyyy...mmmeeeee...wwwhhhhyyy...mmmeeee..."

The girl's voice was hoarse, dragged out and slow. Her frail body was already limp, no longer able to keep up with the torture or have the willpower to escape. She knew it would be impossible to leave. _End it all, please...pleasepleasepleaseplease. _It was fast but... her mind was broken. She wanted to go home. Her family... _mommy, daddy, onii-chan..._

"OoooooNnniiii-cchhaaannnnn...saaaaaveee meeee..."

Ruki blinked a few times at her words. As close as he was to his own family and being able to emphatise with her of wanting to be with them... he wasn't merciful enough to do that. It wasn't he that was suffering like that, after all. He shifted to her bruise on her right shoulder, chomping down on it like a sandwich.

"Kiiiiillll mmmmmeeeeeee..." She moaned, her voice cracking.

"killikillkillkillkillkillkillkill...meeeeeeeeeeeeee"

That was it. Off went her mental stability. Again, Ruki chuckled, completely sastisfied with her reaction. Sanity is like a ticking time bomb. Once it explodes, you become a husk-less wreck. Well, insanity differs from each individual. This man here watched his several victims go berserk in madness, not only his but also others.

"A low-life like you doesn't even deserve the luxury of death. Aren't I right, livestock?"

"..."

By now, she was incapable of comprehensible speech. Had he inserted a speck of insanity in her or not? Who knows.

"Aghhhh...aghhhh..."

Knocks sounded on his door again. Opening it without approval was none other than Yuma, who raised a brow at the scene.

"It was noisy, as well as having the scent of sweet blood in the air and I come across this?"

"Well...was getting a little bored."Ruki laughed, caressing the broken girl's face.

"Must've been painful..." A meek, familiar voice mumbled. Azusa decided to come by as well, observing the aftermath of Ruki's activity. "Heard those yells loud and clear from my room..."

"She's useless to me now. Any of you guys want her?"

His two younger brothers shook their heads.

"Heh, that's just another broken girl stained with your fangs. I want one to myself, not broken like that." Yuma scoffed before frowning. He strained his ears, listening carefully.

"Wow, Yuma-kun's sweets sure are delicious, right Maeki?"

"Mmmphhh."

"Hahaha, your mouth is stuffed! That girl must've been sweet, too."

"Hwateveerhh."

"What was that? Whatever? Haha!"

Without another word, Yuma disappeared from Ruki's sight immediately, hunting down his thieving older siblings. Azusa stood still at the door, silently gazing at the broken mess.

"Azusa, is there something bothering you?" The eldest brother asked his youngest brother, who lightly shook his head.

"Just thinking about Maeki and the full moon." Azusa replied.

"Ah, I see. Have you had your _meal_?"

"Yes. It was enjoyable."

"I won't ask for details then. Anything else you need?"

"Not really... Good night, Ruki-kun."

"Good night, then."

* * *

In the living room, the usual three were there.

"KOU! MAEKI! What you guys think you're doing?!" Yuma growled.

"Oh shit, it's Yuma! Gettin' my ass outta here!" Fuyuki exclaimed as she threw the bag of sweets back onto the sofa, jumping up quickly and running off at full speed.

"Ah, Maeki! I'm coming too!" Kou followed right behind her, both of them escaping their raging younger brother who had come to defend his treats.

"Don't throw them like that! You idiots!" Yuma yelled as he placed the dropped sweets back to its original place. Without chasing the mischievous duo, he carefully collected his sweets. It was practically impossible to stop them from harassing him like that. Reminded of the scene in Ruki's room earlier, the brown-haired vampire closed his eyes. _Even Maeki doesn't care anymore. _Truely enough, she'd been as normal as Kou had been after she visited the tied up girl crying for help. The cries were dismissed as she continued her own activities at home. _A stone heart when necessary indeed. _

Once human, now something else. That is this family, the Mukamis. But without a thought, they harm what they had used to be, used and adapted to what they are now. Honestly though, they're more _humane _than a _certain pure-blooded vampire family. _The Mukamis are a close knit together, caring for each other. At the same time, they're heartless, ruthless monsters. That's how it really is.


	5. Chapter 5: Caught

**Caught**

_Being careful is always advised.  
Not paranoid, not unaware._

_A perfect balance._

* * *

It was a very dark night. After music practice, Fuyuki was walking home whilst taking her own sweet time enjoying the nature around her. Today she decided to take the route from the park back. Not only that. Someone's presence was around. Usually she would just ignore it walk away, but it was for work this time. Turning around, she saw a middle-aged man crawl out from the bushes. With leaves and sticks in his black greying hair, he seemed as if he was some homeless bum. The thing that came slightly surprising was that his outfit consisted of a kimono in shades of blue, hanging across his neck was a charm, even though it is not feudal Japan or some event going on. She watched the man as he scanned his surroundings with his chalky brown eyes before standing up properly and removing whatever was stuck onto him.

"Hahaha! Maeno-san, I found you!" He let out a low laugh. "Hm? Just out of school, eh. That means you're going home, so I'll make this short."

His smile turned into a straight line, his eyebrow furrowing with eyes tingeing with ferocity. The grey-headed girl was not surprised by this change of attitude. This was one needed for his line of work, even hers, really. Although Fuyuki is one of the laziest things you could ever find around, she was unbelievably serious at carrying out her responsibilities. She would not stand being mocked for **not** being serious at work or whatever needed her attention and would blow a hole in whoever that might say that. She turned back her attention to _Sasaki Koujirou_, the youngest child of three, from the Sasaki Shrine. It caught the attention of many that all of them became vampire hunters instead of becoming the head priest of the shrine. In fact, Koujirou's other two siblings- twins in fact, joined one of the most infamous vampire hunter groups- Vampire Circus. Being the youngest and most influenced by the family's lineage, Koujirou stayed on to protect what was left of his family. Fuyuki tapped her feet impatiently for the man to continue whatever he wanted to say.

"Are you interested in killing vampires, Mercenary?" He asked, a cold smile forming on his lips.

"Just get to the point already." Fuyuki said, raising a brow.

"Hm... heard of the name Mukami Ruki?" Koujirou continued as he eyed the surprised girl carefully. "A half-vampire. Makes him all the more dangerous! Halves aren't naturals. Their tendency to go berserk for blood is way higher. You go to the same school as him, so I'm asking you to assassinate him. For a good price, of course."

"Rejected." She said immediately, spitting on the ground. "You're a vampire hunter, it's not my job."

"Ah, but sometimes I can hire people like you to do it,no?" The man put a hand to his head. "Its safer for your _**race**_ to do such dangerous jobs, isn't it."

"Bah. I'm not taking your excuses. I'm the one who chooses my clients, not you." The teen shoved the man aside. "Go back to Edo, I am not interested in your offer."

"Hmph. I know you're affiliated with the target." Koujirou said with a sour voice, eyes full of disgust.

Ignoring him, Fuyuki decided to leave. Koujirou took off in the opposite direction, waving a hand without looking back.

"The next time we meet, death will be lurking."

"Maeki~ You're late today~" Kou complained as he set himself on the sofa, changing the channels on TV. "Aha, this is the one with me in it. Isn't it great?"

"Shut up, you self-important brat." Yuma scoffed, grinding on his sugar cubes. The whole family except Ruki was in the living room.

Power in exchange for a gaping hole in her mind, void of memories. Of course, the reason was as fine as it was. Emotional triggers from those remembering causes such powers to run amok and such an occurrence was unacceptable. At the same time, these painful memories are not to be stored away forever, if full powers were to be obtained. Slowly gathering a sense of self over the several full moons, which barely gave her a fill of the gap, this one right now was throwing several, disconnected and scattered flashbacks flowing into her mind. And always, she'd be asleep. Fuyuki knew that it wasn't the best time for this to happen, with a _foreseen _event occurring. Weighing on a scale, her brother's life costed as much as her own. Although he was obnoxious, dominating, an asshole and a sadist, she still cared. Even if he said that he could do it himself, the fact is: _he'd never fought alone against a vampire hunter. _This very fact worried the girl a lot. That man- Sasaki Koujirou- was clearly going to kill her anyway so..._she could handle him herself. _

"You're looking pretty grim, Fuyuki."

Turning around, Ruki was seen walking down the stairs. Although her usual dead panning face was still around, her small frown was already enough for anyone to understand that she was pondering over something.

"Yeah. I've got bad news, so I need you all to listen." Fuyuki cleared her throat as she watched her brothers mutter their thoughts over her words.

She set herself on the couch beside where Kou and Yuma were, sitting beside Azusa. Ruki sat alone on the remaining one.

"So, what is it?" Ruki folded his arms together, anticipating the news.

He eyed his siblings: Kou who seemed curious but slightly disinterested in the situation, Yuma being a grump but concerned about what Fuyuki was about to say, Azusa calmly waiting for the next move and Fuyuki, the one with the news, stared at him with clear eyes.

"You." She pointed a finger at Ruki, who slightly jerked back at her gesture. "You're targeted by a vampire hunter."

He let out a small gasp before accessing the situation. Kou laughed loudly at his predicament, wiping his tears.

"Ahahahaha...! Well _onii-sama, _were your feeding habits not clean enough? Or were you simply too _unaware _hiding your activities?"

Ruki cringed at Kou's words. Maybe he'd been too careless after all.

"Hmm. This vampire hunter must be very observant to spot Ruki in action." Everyone looked at Azusa, who stated his views. "As half-vampires, we are to be more cautious of what we do. We are more likely to be hunted down, after all."

"Pah, what do they want to do with him anyway?" Yuma scoffed. "Them humans can die so easily, so we'll just kill him."

"Yuma-kun, you're such an idiot~" Kou playfully flicked a candy at Yuma's forehead, earning a small growl from him. "They're not called vampire hunters for no reason~"

"Were you guys not taught the history of vampire hunters?" Fuyuki quickly questioned them.

"Nope." An immediate answer came from Yuma, who obviously didn't know a crumb of it.

"As Azusa said, this man is hunting down Ruki because he is a half-vampire. He seems to be quite serious about this. Ruki... just what did you do recently?" Suspicious stares pierced through the targeted vampire as he ran through his memories.

"That handicapped girl..." He mumbled.

"Woah, you went for a disabled lady!" Kou exclaimed. "That's unexpected from you."

"Hmph, it was getting boring." The eldest gave him a quick answer. "She might have been still alive."

"When was that?" Azusa inquired.

"Last week."

"The girl must've into contact with the vampire hunter. He most probably spent the last week researching Ruki. He knows where we study at, but as long as the location of our house is not known, you should remain safe."

"Fuyuki, are you planning to do something reckless by yourself again?" Ruki frowned at he saw his sister give him the 'it's obvious' look. "I'll deal this myself."

"No." She gave him a sharp answer, surprising him once again. "You're inexperienced in this area. Maybe I'll let you watch what I'm going to do...but you're not doing this yourself."

"This is my problem, there's no need for you to get involved!" Ruki's pride and concern for her were both mixed into his voice. "I need time to think about this."

After saying that, Ruki stood up and left his seat, heading towards the kitchen for some relaxing tea. The younger siblings watch him carry his tea set back up to his room, not looking back. Kou grinned widely, amused at his _onii-sama's _predicament. When it comes to making slip ups, Ruki would be the last one to do so...or so they thought. This made Yuma throw him a questioning look.

"What's so funny about the situation?"

"Ahahaha, you know it! Ruki-kun's all muddled up over this...it's a rare sight." Kou fumbled over as he continued laughing.

"Well, that can be amusing in its own way." A small grin formed on Yuma's face. "He's always so serious and uptight after all."

"Mmm. But that's just like him to be worried, actually." Azusa softly mentioned one of Ruki's quirks. The rest nodded in agreement.

"He's really stuck up though. Livestock this, livestock that. The rest of you as well..." Fuyuki words trailed off as she ran through the million moments in her life where her siblings had pridefully looked down on others. "Uahh... talk about the lack of an open mind."

"What's wrong with that?" Yuma scoffed once again.

"It makes you stupid because you wouldn't want to learn more." Fuyuki snapped her fingers as if triggering something. "Stupid like you."

Her insult coupled with her straight, emotionless face angered Yuma. His rage was at it's finest, ready to pounce on the girl any time before he noticed her grin foolishly; one she would have when she was ready with...

"Are you going to bribe me again?" His eyebrows twitched when he saw her lean back on her seat, fawning over Azusa's hair.

"Aww, I wouldn't call them bribes. They're prizes. I made them, as you know."

Her smile never-fading, her eyes clearly told him that she didn't have much time on her hands to deal with the aftermath of his outburst. Aware of the weight she had to carry over the current situation, Yuma tried his best to calm down by grinding his sweets again. He was grateful that diabetes was now out of question since he had become a vampire. Kou snickered once again, amused at Yuma's reactions. The blond stood up, stretching himself.

"We should be resting soon~ Hurry up and eat the cake Maeki-chan made for you okay?" Kou licked his lips as he imagined himself eating the whole treat in front of the sugar boy.

He trotted back to his room, humming his new song that he recently showed his sister. Right behind him were Azusa and Fuyuki, both of them catching up with each other's lives. Alone in the living room was Yuma. With the constant cries of crickets, he scratched his hair in annoyance.

"What can I do to help...I'll have to keep watch of Maeki."

* * *

Authors Notes: I had too many scenarios and I couldn't pick out one, but I finally managed to arrange the arcs. Well, this commences the first arc in the series: The Hunter arc. Please do note that Sasaki Koujirou's existence is pretty significant, so be sure to remember him even after his arc ends!


	6. Chapter 6: Victim, Prey

**Victim, Prey**

_The result of someone's crime.  
But, for what reason?_

* * *

"Uahh...Koujirou-san *sniff*...ahh..."

On a wheelchair, a woman with delicate features was crying softly over the unfortunate event that had traumatised her. She clutched firmly on her Rosario that was bonded around her neck, so hard that her hand had started to bleed. The vampire hunter, Koujirou, took her trembling fingers into his own, wiping away the blood and wrapped a bandage around her wound.

"Terumi... I'm sorry." He hugged her lightly in his apology, allowing Terumi to burrow her head into his broad shoulder. Her small hands clutched onto his back.

He shifted his eyes towards her wrapped neck. What it was covering was...the remains of a vampire bite. Just last week, Terumi had barely managed to stay alive when he found her body stumbled at the shrine's doorstep. With most of her blood drained out of her, Koujirou had to result to his power to keep her heart from stopping. She continued crying into his shoulder, her beautiful dark blue hair covering her face.

"I should stop crying...now that we know the vampire's identity, we can take immediate action." Determined, she swiftly rolled her wheelchair away from Koujirou, tossing him a handkerchief to wipe his soaked shoulder. "Mukami Ruki, 18 years of age, 3rd year in high school."

The man smiled at his childhood friend's strong will. He knew well that she despised half-vampires, even much more than he did. How broken she was to realise she was bitten by a horrible, sadistic one at that. At first she tried to understand and empathise with them for they were once human, but after several years she gave up trying- all the half-blooded ones she met never spared humans a thought. They were completely devoured by their new nature, devoid of their previous feelings, as if they were vampires ever since they were born.

Koujirou wasn't surprised that she decided to be his partner in this line of work after all her past experiences. The Rito family was not to be underestimated when it came to finding information. In fact, all the details he received on her attacker was none other than Terumi herself. Apparently they were currently trying to stop their business, though. They concluded it was too dangerous for them to continue, therefore hiding their true work from their youngest son. Terumi would always bite her lip whenever her younger brother was brought up. It was conflicting for her when it came to telling him the truth.

"I've asked my favourite mercenary to help us, but it seems that she is affiliated with the target. She goes to the same school as him." He remembered how the girl reacted to his offer. It was clear that she had zero intention to kill this vampire at all.

"You can't just a high school girl who is friends with the target to just kill him, you know." Terumi sighed at his views. "She may be a mercenary, but she is still a young girl. If she rejected you offer harshly it means that she has close bonds with him. But why, I wonder?"

"She has a cold hard face and kills people without a single thought for the sake of her rewards. As a mercenary, she knows that forming close ties to those around you is the last thing you should do, even if the person is your family." Koujirou folded his arms, confused. "She's not even human."

"Hmm. Then...he may have already employed her."

This was the closest answer she could get. It made sense. The target is her client and her reward must be plentiful if she put off Koujirou's offer, even though she knew that she could get much out of him.

"That is most likely. She already know I'm going to kill her..." The vampire hunter's voice trailed off when he saw the young woman throw him a piercing stare.

"Koujirou, how many times do I have to tell you to stop killing non-vampires like that?!" He flinched slightly at her stern voice. "That girl...who is she?"

"Are you planning to talk her out of it? It's no use, she's dedicated to her job, just as I am. So... there's no need for that." He mumbled once again, looking away from her. "See...you must rest as well. You're in no condition to move so much like that."

Terumi was about to protest when a sharp pain jabbed at her neck. Cringing slightly, she placed a hand over her wound. A flashback of a handsome man with lonely greyish blue eyes stared into hers, before a smirk flashed onto his face. Her screams... no matter how loud they were, nobody heard them. When she had awaken, Terumi found herself in an underground cellar, seemingly deserted. She knew she needed to know where it was.

"I understand...I won't obstruct your plans." Her voice was calm and clear. "But reassure me that you will return safely."

"I'm sorry but I cannot reinforce that." An obvious and true answer. "Just like you, she is a woman of steel."

With that, Koujirou left the room, leaving Terumi to her own thoughts. Although her experience was frightening, she must remember as much as she can to support her friend. Their efforts will not be wasted.

* * *

_... _

_Kimi ga tsutaetai kotoba _

_Kimi ga todoketai oto wa _

_Ikutsumono sen wa en ni natte _

_Subete tsunageteiku _

_Doko ni datte ah..._

"Wahh...don't you think Maeno-san's voice has more emotion today?" Takano's green hair was flowing along with the wind, as if it were a plain of grass.

"Really." With her usual nonchalant voice, Fuyuki replied to him. She was busy paying attention to his grass-like hair that had an ahoge that looked like a budding seed. For some apparent reason, it made her feel hungry. "I wanna eat."

"Wh-what?!" The boy jumped backwards as his senior continued staring at his hair, as if it was what she wanted to eat. "Is there something wrong with you today?"

"Why would I want to eat your grass, dumb ass." She drifted by him, opening the fridge to spot for some snacks. "Oh, lemon grass jelly."

Takano shifted with annoyance as he watched her eat with a relaxed expression on her face. It felt as if she didn't take his compliment seriously- like all the other girls are like.

"I just complimented you, you know." He huffed, upset by her lack of reaction.

"I know." She threw him a bottle of orange juice. "You just thought that I was just like other females who will never accept positive remarks and remorse over how they don't get complimented. Right?"

His face grew red in embarrassment since she hit the mark. Turning around stiffly, he sat beside Momoka on the couch, regaining his composure with her radiating energy.

"You'll never beat Fuyuki-senpai in a verbal match and you know that well enough, Taka." Momoka handed him some checkered cookies.

"But Momo... I can't remain defeated like that..." He brought his knees to his face, sulking in defeat and embarrassment. "I still can't believe how easily she saw me through."

"Same here, but what made you think of her like that?" The brown-headed girl watched her friend twirl his hair.

"Because there's only one girl that strikes to him as unique." Fuyuki snickered as she continued devouring her dessert. "And that one person on his mind is-"

"Censored." Kouji interrupted her speech for his trembling junior's sake. He knew Fuyuki would've stopped there on her own for the presumably dense Momoka to start questioning Takano. He sighed, though, at himself for co-operating with the prankster.

"Kouji-senpai...thanks..." Takano mumbled. Unfortunately for him, the expected question came from Momoka.

"Ooh, you like someone? A unique person who differs from all the other girls...hey, who is it?" Momoka snickered as she elbowed the sorrowful boy.

Although she did ask that question, it felt as if she already knew the answer. The two 2nd years whisper to each other about how Takano doesn't realise Momoka's ability to perceive situations easily. She isn't as dense as he made her out to be.

"Shy? Never mind then. Confess when you're ready, okay?"

"Wait. What?"

Seems like Takano got the message.

* * *

"My sister got seriously injured in an accident. She already is crippled enough and here she is being reckless again..." Kouji muttered as Fuyuki stared at him curiously.

"Your sister is handicap?" This inquiry was necessary since it relates to Ruki's case. The accident he mentioned may be the injures Ruki has dealt his victim.

"Yes, she's been on a wheelchair since she got into high-school. She's 25 now." He looked down into his notebook, scribbling answers down. "She was coming home from school and she saw an old woman that was about to be hit by a car, so she got her out of the way and took the fall. Heroic, right?"

Kouji's eyes beamed with pride as he mentioned his sisters acts. What processed in Fuyuki's mind was a direct translation of what he had just told her. This woman was handicapped because she saved someone important to her from a half-vampire's attack, most likely Sasaki Koujirou. The man has developed a strong hate for half-vampires ever since and the recent attack has made him snap. This woman probably loathes such vampires as well. How did she fix this all up? Her encounter with the shrine's hunter and information about the victim was enough for her to deduce this.

Fuyuki soured up as she realised that her best friend, Kouji, would be warped up in this if she did not proceed carefully. She must avoid the death of his sister and cover up Koujirou's death to the cleanest she can. Either that, or he will be exposed to the horrid world beyond him. Since his sister is aware of the existence of vampires, she must be hiding it from Kouji. But...the truth must be revealed sooner or later. She gazed at the blue haired male, who gave her a sweet smile, making her relieved and at the same time, sunken. He wasn't ready for this news. Not yet.

"Something's been on your mind since this morning. What's wrong?" Still smiling, he gently pulled her cheek. "Woah, you're really cold."

"Family stuff." Honestly replying, Fuyuki rolled her head on the table, her hair covering everything on it.

Kouji knew it was serious, so he didn't ask for details. Although he was usually rough with her, during times like these he would be soft and gentle. Just like how Fuyuki, who usually gave silly remarks, would give earnest advice to her troubled friends.

"I'll have to become mentally stronger to have you open yourself up to me. That's what you always say, right?"

"Yeah... receive things with an open-mind. Until then, this information is enclosed."

Although she said this coldly, she held firmly onto his hand, as if seeking for warmth. Kouji naturally responded by placing his head by hers, grasping back onto her hand. A feeling of regret was radiating from her.

"I'll have you sleep this study session." He closed his eyes, concious of the fact that her face was only a few inches away from his. "Good night."

At the classroom's door, looking over them both were a group was curious individuals. They were fervently discussing what they just saw.

"Uwahh...they're so cute together! Shuu-san, don't you think so?" Yui exclaimed softly as her eyes sparkled.

"...This eavesdropping event has been occurring as of late, hasn't it." Shuu lazily replied as he looked into the classroom window once again to see to two sleeping figures close together.

"Ehhh, so they're Bitch-chan's friends? Fufu. I can see why she likes them so much." Laito gave a small chuckle as he stood by Yui. "The girl doesn't smell very good, but she is indeed a beauty. I overheard that Reiji doesn't like her?"

"He said that she's similar to Shuu because she's so lazy even though she has talents." Yui whispered to Laito to avoid the blond male from listening. "Best not to mention her name in front of him unless..."

"Unless I want to aggravate him. Right." Laito took another look inside the room. "Doesn't smell delicious...but I feel that her actual smell is being hidden by something. Does she have a charm of some sort?"

"No, but she does have a watch pendant around her neck." Yui answered. She sniffed to air to try confirm what he was saying. "I don't think it's because of it though. Sometimes she removes it and she smells the same."

"Getting used to being a vampire, Bitch-chan?"

"Unfortunately..." Yui's voice trailed off. Her newly found abilities would help in the safety of her friends, so she didn't find it as awful as before. She had to see the positive side of things- one of her guiding principles in life. That way she could move on.

"Let's go home, it's getting late. Looks like there won't be club activities tomorrow because of the teachers' meeting, so Reiji expects you to be back on time." Shuu quickly mentioned this before heading off.

The other two followed suit. _I may be the only one thinking of this, but it's possible that she isn't human._

* * *

Authors Note: The song above is "Tell Your World", composed by livetune and sung by Hatsune Miku.

Sorry if the Sakamakis aren't appearing as much as you'd preferred (Subaru and Kanato have not been mentioned so far). They aren't the focus family so... (=v=") my bad. Don't worry, they'll have to need a considerable amount of screen time since Yui is a main character (duhhh this is revolved around MORE BLOOD).

I haven't thought of who to put Fuyuki together with (romantically). Kouji may have to most romantic moments with her but who knows, it may be platonic. Basically, there are no canon pairings yet except for Yui x Ayato (apologies if you wanted someone else to be paired with her).


	7. Chapter 7: Resolves

**Resolves**

_Not just simply a _

_wish, or desire._

* * *

In the car, the Sakamakis and Yui sit in their usual spots. Laito gained his place beside Yui since they entered the car at the same time, making Ayato displeased. She had been spending time with his perverted sibling today, and what was surprising was that Laito hadn't pounced on her once. He did make some advances, which were cleanly rejected. Although Fuyuki's words had come true, he couldn't put a finger on whether it was a curse or miracle. Yui didn't seem to show any withdrawal symptoms. Actually, she seemed much more happier spending time with others. The _ore-sama _wondered if her claim of loving him was true. Whether they trusted each other or not.

He shook his head vigorously to get rid of such thoughts. _Weirdoyuki _had been haunting him ever since he asked for advice. Ayato clearly wasn't sure of whether he should be grateful or not. Just punishing Yui, who was masochistic, would be enough. Or so it should be. Being nice to her wouldn't work, since he'd done that before. He had to wait. Seeing that several other men that didn't fall out of the looks department were surrounding her day by day, it wouldn't be difficult for her to slip through his fingers for another man. It bothered him a lot. Too much.

He curiously glanced at his older triplet conversing happily with her, although their voices were suspiciously hushed. Drawing closer, he managed to catch on what they were saying.

"So Maeno-chan is the lead guitarist of your band and she's lazy like Shuu~" Laito hummed.

"Around there. The only time she smiles is when she makes fun of someone or when she's being silly."

"Ehhh~ I know how she feels about that, though. Maybe I'll try talking to her?" He adjusted his fedora that almost fell of due to a bump during the car ride.

"She doesn't like people approaching her out of the blue." Yui whispered, noting that Reiji had turned his attention towards them. At the same time, she was worried that Laito may do something horrible to her beloved friend. "Don't try anything funny okay? I mean, Rito-kun may get angry after all..."

"You mean her boyfriend? Haha, I'll see if she's interesting before I start doing anything."

"They told me they're not dating but it seems that way..." Yui gave Laito a confused look. "But we saw them so close together earlier, how could they not be?"

"Things like that takes time, Bitch-chan. You told me he's similar to Subaru?"

"Yeap, but he's generally nice to everyone, so that's different." Laito snickered at how she clearly differentiated the two.

"Hmm...Bitch-chan, you smell really good when I talk about your friends." He licked his lips with pleasure as he got uncomfortably close to Yui. "Maybe I should talk about them while savouring you."

"That wouldn't be happening at all!" Yui huffed as she lightly pushed Laito away.

This red-head could be on friendly, equal terms with the bride if he wanted to, just like how it is now. Sometimes being like was more refreshing for him before proceeding to the hot stuff.

"Why, is it because you belong to Ayato?" Laito chuckled as he saw her blush and turn away to look out of the window. "Correct, huh? You two love-birds."

"...It's not like he cares does he..." Her pink eyes caste down on her lap, softly mumbling her current concerns. Laito sighed as he saw her happy mood turn into a sadder one.

Ayato had been silently listening to their conversation. She pushed Laito away. She was insecure over whether she was cared for or not. She wanted her own space, so much that she dared to ignore him. What was more surprising was how Laito listened to her blabbering like an older brother would. A taste of jealously spread over his tongue as he saw how close the two actually were, clicking his tongue before pondering again. Laito smirked at how his younger brother reacted to their talk, aware of their current confusions.

"I wonder how this will play out?"

* * *

Ruki had a half-filled cup of blood freshly poured into his wine cup. In usual situations he would gladly gulp down this fine smelling delicacy, but this time he was extremely hesitant about it. The other brothers stared intensely at the blood, also nervous. The only one who was calm was no other than Fuyuki, who stood beside Ruki with demanding eyes.

"Drink it."

It had been a week since Ruki had a proper meal. But now that he was being hunted, his movements were restricted. Considering that their opponent was an experienced hunter, Ruki could not afford risking himself to death. And therefore, this solution. A simple one where there was easy access. Fuyuki slit her wrist with one of Azusa's silver knifes, allowing her blood to flow graciously into the cup.

Being the eldest, Ruki couldn't help but feel that she shouldn't have hurt herself for such a purpose. The alluring smell that was hidden by a layer of _something _was revealed, making the vampire brothers go hungry instantly. But, of course Ruki was reluctant. He didn't want to feed from his sister, even though it was indirect. Looking back at her wound, the cut cleanly sewed itself back together as it made instant recovery.

"Look here. You'll be able to** live off this for a month **so you need it. Seriously." With a pocky in her mouth, Fuyuki chided her older brother to drink her blood. "If you're wondering why I'm doing this...it's so that you would be in the safest position."

"That's right Ruki-kun, just do it!" Kou eyed the blood swaying lightly. "Maeki-chan's blood will be wasted if you don't drink it."

Although the blond did say this in a light-hearted manner, he himself was busy staring at Fuyuki's previously cut wrist. By now it was cleanly patched up without a trace of injury. He looked back up to see a blank expression on her face, showing no signs of pain.

"Haaah...I still find your enduring skills amazing. Azusa's knives are all sleek and sharp and...silver." Yuma shuddered a little at imagining the cold metal touching his skin.

Hearing how his brother described his precious knives that he took care of dearly, Azusa had a small smile of pride. They were sharp and painful... those were the qualities of a knife Azusa had always looked for when selecting or sharpening one.

"Glad you found it sharp."

Yuma sighed at the purple-eyed boy before returning his attention to the current scene. Ruki slowly brought the cup to his lip, tilting it slightly. A few droplets of blood trickled down the smooth surface of the glass, landing lightly on his tongue. He squinted his eyes, savouring the flavour and at the same time, feeling regretful. His grey-blue eyes met a similar pair of eyes of the same colour, just that they were much duller. The owner of those eyes gave him a frown. Shamefully, he decided to take a mouthful of it.

"What the...I've never tasted anything like this before."

The man ruffled his grey hair as he stared into the cup. His reflection was blurry in the shine of the crimson liquid. The blood has satisfied his cravings for something exquisite- a sweet tasting dish made by a fine chef. As delicious the meal was...he was in no mood to complete it.

"Do I have to finish this?"

"Yes." Fuyuki had already finished her pack of pocky when Ruki had only taken a gulp out of his cup.

"...Alright then."

Submitting to his sister's demands, he decided to consume all the contents. Every time he felt the liquid flow through his throat, he could feel a smooth, almost healing sensation. The beautiful taste lingering in his mouth had remained, leaving him more than satisfied. Oddly, he did not crave for more. _You'll be able to live off this for a month. _He finally realised what his sister meant by that.

"I know I've smelt her blood before but I keep on forgetting how it's like~" Kou whined as he gave Fuyuki his pitiful look. "Maeki-chan, did you do something for me to forget?"

"I do something to everyone to make them forget." Her blunt answer was enough for him to understand. She twirled her hair for a bit before turning towards the stairs. "I gotta do some stuff. Catch you guys later."

Finishing her job in the living room, Fuyuki immediately headed to her room. Her brothers silently watch her walk off lazily, as if she were to stumble asleep any moment.

In her room, the girl was flipping through a thick file. Inside contained information of several people, all of them confirmed missing or dead. The last few pages had people without those labels on them. People get missing or die each time; it wasn't a rare thing.

At the very last was a freshly printed piece and the information there was about- Sasaki Koujirou. He was a young man, 25 years of age. As suspected, he had close ties with Rito Terumi, Kouji's sister. Apparently Kouji was named by Terumi, the older sister hoping her brother would turn out like Koujirou.

"They'll probably stay absolutely undercover once they realise I'm on good terms with Kouji." Fuyuki coldly stared at the picture of the vampire hunter. "How advantageous."

* * *

Tomorrow was a day without club activities in school but the band could not afford losing a precious day of practice. And with that...

"Kouji, you said your house is spacious and has the equipment. Right?" Fuyuki's dull yet hopeful eyes pierced into the dark blue haired teen.

"Y-yeah, but-"

"Alright, we're crashing there tomorrow."

"Fuyuki, my sister-"

"I bet she'd love to see us around."

"...I guess so..."

Momoka giggled as she watched their actual leader (most people think that it is Kouji) set the plans without allowing him to finish his sentence.

* * *

A traditional Japanese themed house. The ones with large bonsai gardens. That was Kouji's home.

"What the...?! Kouji-senpai, this is amazing!" Takano exclaimed as he stared at the details of the house, taking it in.

"Not really... well, I don't know how yours is like so I can't compare." Kouji shrugged.

"Beautifully simple, but to big of a place for me." Fuyuki looked around, roughly measuring the parameters. "There's two people down the corridor. I believe one is your sister? She's on a wheelchair, right?"

"Right. Terumi, Koujirou!"

The two responded to the boy's call and headed towards the band. An excited smile was on Terumi's face as she inspected her brother's friends with great interest.

"So, which one is the one you like to talk about?" She giggled as she saw him blush. "Must be the guitar girl, right? She matches your description. Really pret-"

"WAHHHHH!" Kouji desperately stopped his sister from talking. Unfortunately, a mischievous smile formed on Fuyuki's lips as she stared at him expectantly.

"What was it you said about me I wonder~" She hummed. Kouji lightly punched her head bashfully.

"Noooooothing much..."

Silently watching them in horror was Koujirou. How was he going to kill her now?

"What's wrong, Koujirou?" Terumi asked in a hushed tone.

"Ko-Kouji's friend...that girl he likes..._she's the mercenary._"

"...Koujirou. You better make a change of plans."

* * *

Authors Notes: Does anyone even read this Q,Q Oh well. This chapter is shorter than the usual but I think much can be helped since the scene transitioning would be better if it were to be placed on the next chapter.

Sorry for not flashing out my OCs such as Takano and Momoka. I don't have plans on adding them to the main plot but please tell me if you have any ideas for how to make them stand out.

Also, this fanfiction involves a lot of OCs because it is leaning towards the demon and vampire hunter side. The only VH I've heard about in the original story is only Komori Seiji (Yui's dad). For demons, it was the "only mentioned Demon Lord" and Cordellia having demon blood flowing in her. Other than that? Nope O_O


	8. Chapter 8: Reminiscence of the Hunter

**Reminiscence of the Hunter**

_A hunter bound to his duties  
__A mercenary with only one duty_

* * *

The group quietly approached the feeding grounds. As expected, the stench of blood and sweat filled their noses, engulfing their senses whole. Koujirou bit on his lip in disgust, blinking several times for his tears to go away. This was not their first mission, definitely.

When he was on his first expedition, the sight of a vampire doing his unpleasant everyday activities was horrifying. Rooted to the ground, he merely stared- the last thing anyone should have done in that situation. A flash of grey went past him, blasting the monster in an instant. It was his senior, Takagi.

"Sasaki, pay attention. You could've died there."

He had a cool, soothing voice that seemed too calm for the situation. Koujirou, being 18 at that time, looked up to the 30 year-old man. At first, he thought that Takagi was just simply used to this. But as time went by, he noticed that the man's hazel eyes tinged of sadness, especially when he saw a dead child. _He must've lost his child._

But today's scene was like no other. A woman with gracefully, black hair was pinned onto the wall, as if crucified. Blood trickled from her mouth. Her torso was cleanly cut right in the middle.

Bites scattered all over her body; her neck, thighs, arms. The first thing you could see from her open chest was her empty lungs. Literally empty of blood. Koujirou gulped.

"Arghhh...I've never seen such cruelty..." Yosouka clamped his mouth with his hands.

They had to investigate the victim, though. A vampire did this, certainly. And a tricky, sick one at that. Not a trace of himself did he leave. The woman was also impossible to save in any way. With no leads, the group had to leave her there and proceed onto the next destination ahead.

* * *

Soon enough, they heard sounds of blades crashing against each other. Weapons flung around the room, getting deflected. A stunning view came into play. The vampire hunters stopped in their tracks, hiding behind a wall for safety.

An elegant looking man had his maroon hair swept to the side, cruel pale eyes that matched his manic smirk. As expected, his business suit and bare hands were smeared with crimson. He skilfully spun his cane around to reflect the knives mercilessly thrown at him.

At the other corner of the room was a young girl cladded in black. Her grey hair reached just below her shoulders, slightly curly. Greyish-blue eyes that shone with almost no light stared right in front where her target was. Clearly enough, she was getting sick with needing to dodge her own knives that only grazed the man.

Something surprising happened. Abandoning her useless ranged weapons, a bright purple light swarmed the room. In her hand formed a sleek scythe, its blade glinting menacingly in the moonlight. She had summoned a weapon out of thin air.

"That's a demon..." Koujirou gasped.

Vampire hunters were special humans with granted power. They could give their weapons special attributes and potential, being able to overpower their sworn enemies; vampires. But demons were different. With similar powers to vampire hunters, but much more exceptional. They could call out their weapons from nowhere with their manifested mana. Physically, they were much more blessed with their natural weapon handling.

She took a small step back. The air tensed, as if being swallowed whole by the snake in her hands. In a flash, the girl was face to face with the vampire. With no time to react, his eyes opened wide before he was cleanly sliced in half with the strong swing of the scythe.

"Mission en complete." The reaper muttered.

Blood spluttered onto the white-washed wall. His body fell apart, organs dropping onto the ground now that they were released from their shell. Yosouka couldn't take it. He swung his head away and threw up into the small drain beside him, afraid and disgusted. The leader, Tono, felt his eyes swim, but kept his ground.

"Koujirou." He whispered faintly. "We'll ask her later."

The said hunter's eyes brimmed with tears. Yes, tears of sadness. It wasn't that he felt bad for how the vampire's life ended. It was the girl. He, a 22 year-old man, was crying. Before him was a girl around 14 years of age, doing such a job. Her race didn't matter. What she just did was heart-wrenching. Her age was the same as his close friend's brother: Kouji. It was the same as imagining Kouji in her place.

It didn't end there. The remaining corpse of the vampire started to dissipate, as if burning away. A white trail of smoke emitted from it.

"In science, you call this sublimation...like mothballs. Right?"

With her cold icy eyes, she stared at the empty doorway. Feeling no reason to hide any more,Tono pulled Koujirou and Yosouka out of their places, facing the demon. Her scythe was already gone.

"What is your purpose of killing him?" Koujirou hesitantly asked.

"Contract."

Pulling out an official document, she placed it onto the man's hands. He eyed it with curiosity and suspicion.

"See, I signed here. My client needed him dead." She said nonchalantly.

The three men recognised the signature. Yosouka's face soured at the too familiar image that appeared in his mind.

"Leader. What is the meaning of this." The previously timid man's voice turned solid.

"...sorry. It was a desperate need..."

"Don't look so dejected, sir." The young girl looked up into Tono's face. "This is my job, I don't hate it."

Koujirou trembled. He was mixed with emotions about this...situation.

"I'm a mercenary, so just find me or call me up when you need." Placing a business card on both Yasouka and Koujirou's hands, she nodded with satisfaction. And with that, she faded from the night. Tono took the contract paper from Koujirou, staring at it with regretful eyes.

Never did Sasaki Koujirou know that it would come to use. Never did he realise the many times he needed it. Never did he think that she'd become his favourite mercenary, or use other mercenaries for that fact.

And he never thought that he needed to kill her eventually.

* * *

Authors Notes: And here is an even shorter chapter because I have nothing in mind. More of Fuyuki is revealed; though its actually so obvious that she would be like that from the beginning. TBH this was actually much more gore-ish but I had to tone it down because...ratings.

(ipreferredmyunnecessarybutbeautifulgorescenesthough/shot#reasonwhythischapterisshort)

Also, I'm glad that Fuyuki is being well received ^_^ Tell me if you'd like to see more of the Sakamakis, so I'll be able to put in the right dosage of them in for your enjoyment~


	9. Chapter 9: The Troubled Mind

**The Troubled Mind**

_Decisions are always difficult.  
But the thing is:_

_How much are you willing to sacrifice?_

* * *

_The surroundings were those of a peaceful nature. Trees swayed along with the light gusts of wind that came by, scattering shades of orange leaves that clearly stated the season of the year. Soft chirping of different flocks of birds echoed in the silent park, along with the sounds of flowing water from the river nearby. It was early in the morning, around 8, perhaps. People could be seen jogging, old folks doing Taichi and businessmen walking to work. Just in the distance you could see a church of modest size sitting behind the trees, forming part of the beautiful scenery. Young Fuyuki was taking a stroll with her father, both of them hand in hand as they enjoyed their time together. _

_"Fuyuki-chan, do you like your pendant?" Her father asked as he gently smiled at her. _

_"Yeap!"_

_By the church was a graceful looking woman with long flowing brown hair and hazel eyes, who turned around to face the father and child. _

_"Yuki, you wanted a picture of us together, right?" _

_"Now!" The little girl demanded, pointing a finger at her parents, her blue eyes glinting in excitement._

_"Wow, you're so worked up over this!" Her father commented. _

_"Of course! You guys don't really leave memories behind...so I'll do it for you! If you don't wish to remember...I'll remember them for you!"_

_Her parents were slightly taken aback by words and her unexpected observance. _

_"We'll be counting on you, then."_

* * *

And then she awoken with the touch of warmth on her forehead. The 17 year-old slowly opened her eyes to see a pair of warm brown eyes, looking down at her gently. His hand remained, caressing her soft hair.

"You're off to dreamland again?" Kouji laughed softly.

"I'll be able to catch the mistakes better."

"I see. Well, you're just in time; break time is over."

* * *

...

Yuugure no  
Namida ga desou na aka  
Watashi no naka wo kimi wo  
Tokashite, shimae

...

Her singing voice wasn't too far off from what she usually sounded like. Her expression didn't change into one of a passionate singer.

Just as usual, her eyes had a distant look. Terumi was naturally captivated by the soothing sounds of her tone. But for Koujirou, it reminded him of something. The lyrics and the way she sang it, so far yet close to emotion.

"The evening sky seems to be crying red tears, so please melt me into you."

With the moon closing in and the day fading out, she once again holds onto her scythe. The red she spills onto the ground is simply an inconvenience, although they hold so much grief and agony. And that image of her stays on forever like a scar. A foreboding scar the jolly yet grief-stricken man has to remember.

For Terumi, the situation was easy enough to make out. The way Kouji cared for her as she slept. The way she let herself drift to sleep on his lap even when she was in enemy territory. _That girl mustn't die, but both sides are definitely not in for a compromise. _

A hearty laughter came from black haired man, who smiled pleasantly at Kouji at if he were his own son.

"Looks like you've found something you really enjoy."

But at the back of his eyes was pure suspicion of the girl. Yes, he liked her a lot. But, this wasn't an excuse to not kill her. But if he won the fight and she did die, he wouldn't know what to say to Kouji.

Despite his exterior happiness, Kouji was the first to notice Koujirou's concerns.

"Koujirou, something's bothering you again. Its still about Terumi, right?" He sighed.

The boy didn't like how the other man always brooded over things with a single-tracked mind. Although that mindset was recommended in some situations, currently wasn't the right time for it.

"Kch, not really..."

"I can tell that Koujirou-san really cares for Terumi-san, huh." Momoka bluntly stated.

She could tell that the both of them had the "close friends" relation, but Koujirou wasn't ready to step out of the friend-zone yet. To be honest, she didn't like Koujirou because he clearly disliked Fuyuki-senpai's presence for some _dumb_ reason. Not only that, he seemed like such a killjoy person because he foolishly decided to lie their face into complimenting the performance.

Momoka didn't care whatever he was thinking, be it important or not. If he liked the woman, he should just do something already. Also, lying wasn't going to cut it. The brown-headed girl disliked lies more than anything else. The reason being a story for next time.

Koujirou flinched at the sharp stare he received from the annoyed drummer, who in return ignored him and stared at her drum set again, waiting for the next song. The oldest woman in the room sighed at his behaviour, rolling her wheelchair towards him to pull the man to the side.

"Koujirou, you know this isn't the time to brood over these kind of things. You've clearly ticked of Momoka- she is a perceptive one. I suggest you cool off somewhere else so you wouldn't raise more suspicions." Terumi folded her arms and shook her head slowly. He was usually bright and cheery, but needed to clear his head from this mess.

"You'll be in danger- she's just right there and you're defenceless..." He slightly jumped back when he felt hands slide up to his, being grasped in a protective manner.

"Don't worry. She will probably not bother with me. Also, she wouldn't reveal her identity in such a place where several people are at. And..." She closed her eyes and smiled. "Kouji is around. I bet Fuyuki-chan wouldn't dream of showing him such a horrifying scene."

"Hah... you win, you win." Koujirou waved his hand and sighed in defeat. Even so, he placed a pistol in her hands.

"The bullets in this are special; she wouldn't recover as quick when hit because it steals her mana away. If this hits her brain or heart, she'll be severely damaged."

"... you really have the intention to kill her..." Terumi mumbled in disappointment. She then returned the gun and frowned. "I would like something else that would protect me, but wouldn't endanger her."

"Just take it. Please."

* * *

"Eh, that guy left?" Takano, who was silent the entire time, finally spoke. "He was acting very suspiciously, as if he wanted to stab someone or something..."

"Hmph. Terumi-san, don't take such a guy as your man because he'll only bring you to the deepest, darkest depths of hell." Momoka scoffed spitefully, unlike her usual upbeat behaviour. "If you've come to hate him, please tell me. I'll crack his neck for you."

Her menacing smile made everyone (except Fuyuki) in the room shudder. They've only just met him an hour ago and was able to evoke such dark thoughts in people without even interacting much with them.

"All it takes is one stupid lie to make Momo crack." The green-haired boy explained, wagging his finger like a teacher would. "That guy was...familiar. He's that dude from the Sasaki Shrine, right?"

"Ah, yes." Terumi nodded her head. "He has two older siblings who are twins, but they left the shrine for another job. For him, he stayed behind but not to become the head priest, but for another role."

"Then he must be a..." Oddly, Takano's voice trailed off. He looked down at his own feet, shuffling them uncomfortably. "Never mind. Its just a myth..."

"Myth? What myth?" Kouji's head boggled as his friends were acting oddly since they came to his house. To be more precise, after seeing Koujirou.

"It has been speculated that vampires exist in this world. And naturally, there would be vampire hunters. They are humans with blessed blood, passed down through generations. The Sasaki's were one of the last families to receive this power before the demon that blessed them was executed. They then went back to Japan and started their vampire hunting in Asia."

Fuyuki cringed at the detailed explanation given by Takano. With Momoka's suspicion with the vampire hunter and Takano's knowledge about the existence of the supernatural, it was going to be hard to deal with the situation. If anything, it would be a high chance that Takano would be dragged into the hidden world that intrigued him. Admittedly, this is going to be one of the hardest missions she has embarked on.

With the risk of her brothers and friends lives on her shoulders, she had to deal with this as delicately as possible.

"I never knew you were interested in vampire myths." Fuyuki commented, her eyes now tinged with curiosity. They pierce into the boy's heart, causing him to blurt out his answer.

"Well, I thought I saw that man covered in blood and I got shocked, so I decided to research to at least find out more about him. And then I got all this information and got interested...so I..."

* * *

"Terumi-san, don't mind if we have a talk outside?" The grey-headed girl gestured the wheel-chaired woman towards the corridor before pushing her outside.

"If a mere high-school boy is able to find such information, where the heck is the security?" Fuyuki questioned Terumi a bit harshly. "And to allow himself to be seen so simply, what is he _thinking? _You have to knock some sense into him before I leak this to the shrine- they'll assassinate him **for** **sure.**"

"_**Don't worry Fuyuki-chan. I will.**_"

The mercenary nodded in satisfaction as she heard the determined answer. With the co-operation from her enemies, the cards are perfecting being set on the field.

_Today's client is: Me._

* * *

Authors Notes: Late Update! 2 weeks, was it? My bad.

Another short chapter because my mind can't take any more of this. Expect the next chapter to be even later ;_;  
Anyway, sorry for making Koujirou look pretty annoying here (with his brooding and all).

Perceptive, Angry Momoka and Curious, Intelligent Takano now enter the plot! I thought that more humans needed to get involved in this. Normal ones.

I don't really want to say this but...I'll probably need a review to improve on this. Really.

BTW: The song is "glow" by Hatsune Miku Append DARK. If you haven't heard it, check it out!


	10. Chapter 10: Affirmations of Love

**Affirmation of Love**

_Are these bonds between two true?  
All you have to do is prove it._

* * *

"Chichinashi."

The all-too-familiar voice called out to Yui, who was frosting a tropical fruit tart that Kanato had requested. The diced up strawberries, mangoes, kiwi and other sorts of fruits sat on a plate next to her, waiting to be topped onto the soon-to-be frosted tart. Considering the boy's personality, she wouldn't be able to finish it in time if she gave him her full attention.

"Yes, Ayato-kun?" She replied, her eyes still peeled on the dessert.

Yui gently placed the cream aside and started placing the fruits on top one by one. She made sure it looked good enough to be accepted by even Reiji, who had always critiqued her everytime she made food, which actually helped her improve.

Ayato watched her, clicking his tongue in annoyance as he saw how she didn't bother facing him at all. The idea to flip the tart over and teasing her for it was pleasing, making him snicker as he stepped forward. But he stopped. If he'd done it, she would go further away. But all he needed was to force her to be his, right?

"Who are you giving that to?" He eyed her as she set the plate on a server, a small jar of chocolate syrup sitting by it.

"Kanato-kun. He requested for it for his teatime."

"You ignore me and suck up to other men while you're at it? Heh. You're never getting off the hook easily, and you know that."

He backed her to the wall and blocked her exit by pinning both her arms above her head. This made her frown back at him, clearly irritated by his actions. Ayato made no stops, though. Drawing his face nearer, he licked a patch of cream on her cheek off, smirking.

"I'll make you enjoy your time with me. You're a perverted woman, after all."

His lips crashed into hers, hungrily snatching her breath away. Opening his eyes slightly, he saw her cheeks tinted in a slight pinkish colour, the corner of eyes containing droplets of tears. He tilted his head, deepening the kiss as his tongue travelled out of his mouth to knock on her teeth. She involuntarily gasped, allowing him to kiss her even more fervently.

Yui felt his desperation. The desperation of wanting her to stay with him. A swell of emotions came up from inside her. Part of her wanted to give in, letting him do as he pleased. Another part of her wanted to slap him. And another part of her wanted to run away in fear.

"Ayato-kun..."

He wanted her to call out to him even more. Her voice, he wanted more. Everything. Ayato was already blinded by the loneliness and the yearn for her. To the point that all he felt was the warm sensation of her skin and lips. She was like a eternal craving for him.

"Mmnn...Ayato-kun!"

The red-headed vampire snapped back into his senses as he felt a warm touch on his head, ruffling his hair gently. It was kind and made him feel all fuzzy inside, an odd feeling. He knew what was happening.

Soon enough, he gave in to the warm feeling that Yui was giving him by caressing his head. A warm scent came from her, what many would call homely. Wrapping his arms around her, he buried his face into the crook of her neck. To him, it would be wonderful if he could sleep like that everyday.

"Why...why did you ignore me?"

His emerald eyes looked up to her, like a child would.

"Because...because...you're always so mean to me." She pouted, turning her head away from his gaze.

"Hmm? Are you saying you want me to do this to you more often?"

"No! You're always locking me up, saying cruel things... _do you even care about me? _I keep asking myself that question, asking and asking and... it hurts..." Tears of mixed emotions fell down her cheek relentlessly despite her effort of holding them back.

Tenderly, he kissed and licked her tears away. Yui was taken aback by his sudden gestures of affection. At first, she thought he was being remorseful...but this was Ayato. Looking into his emerald eyes, she saw a flash of mischief. She knew that he was planning something up his sleeve now that they had reconciled.

"Ayato-kun, what are you plan- waaahhh?!"

Without warning, he easily lifted her from the ground and carried her in his arms like a princess. As expected, a smirk formed on his face as he gazed into her flustered expression.

"Making you mine, of course."

He made his way to his room in triumph as Yui softly complained in his arms.

Watching, Kanato was sighed in disappointment. Carrying his Teddy, he went to the kitchen to retrieve his abandoned tray of dessert. He stared at it with disgust, wishing to throw it away at once. But his current cravings couldn't bare him to, so he took it back to his room.

"Hmph. I should have known. If I had acted earlier, then..."

* * *

Subaru could only wish harder for his nap to be interrupted. His sensitive ears caught up on sounds he'd rather not listen to at the moment. With a grunt, he pulled himself up from his dark coffin, pushing the cover open. It was currently 6 am, an ungodly hour to be awake for someone such as him.

"Ughh, can't they make their love-making quieter or something..."

Annoyed, he flipped over his bedside table before teleporting away to a more serene place.

* * *

His footstep were quiet. In the midst of the morning, where the sun was about to rise. The familiar japanese garden was to his liking, though he'd admit that he didn't find the rose garden at the back of his mansion too bad, either. The sounds of water flowing into the pond and the soft rustling of the trees eased his ears.

Yes, this was trespassing. Trespassing into someone's property, whom he didn't even know of. And yet, he had came here a brilliant number of times. Laying himself down onto an old canopy that hung between two ancient-looking trees, he gazed into the sky. Stars were more visible here than the city, and the moon was at 3-thirds today. Something made his stomach twist as he heard the grass being crushed.

Wheels. The morning breeze blew, and streaks of long, silky dark blue hair swayed gently. A lady pushed herself into the garden in the early morning, her eyes slightly widening at the sight of the albino vampire.

"Oh? A schoolmate of Kouji's at this time?"

Subaru realised that he hadn't changed out of his uniform out of his laziness. He clicked his tongue in irritation. Another human, all over again. But, a scent caught his senses. Swinging his head around to face her, his eyes were directed to her bandaged neck. A vampire bite. A severe one.

"Don't worry, I won't sell you out to the head. What are you doing here?"

"Tch, why should I tell you." Subaru rolled his eyes. Vampires are superior, no?

"Well, can tell what you are, so that is indeed concerning."

This took him by surprise. She had a relation to vampires? Maybe, surviving such a bite is pretty impossible for someone as frail as her. Even he could tell that she'd been handicapped for quite a while, considering how easily she moved around.

"My name's Terumi, son of the pure-blooded King. And I have a request for you."

He gave her a look of suspicion. Someone definitely sold his information to her- but who? Maybe it was _that man. _He might've gotten too bored with the situation, after all.

"Recognise the scent on my neck? Please identify this person for me."

"And what is my gain? Why should I help you?"

"I know of a person that can answer your questions. Those questions towards your mother, Christa."

"Who is it?!" This woman took him by utter surprise. The anticipation annoyed him, causing the destruction of a nearby bench.

"Well, I need time to compromise with _her. _So, would you help me out in this?"

An unexpected meeting. What will his involvement bring to the current dispute...

* * *

Authors Notes: HERE IT IS.

My internet was down for a week, so I couldn't post this short chapter. Still, I hope my story can capture your attention. I would appreciate constructive reviews, but any is fine too!

I decided to plop down Kanato and Subaru here since they had no screen time at all. Here's to you people who might have wanted to see them.

And to Neko-Kittens: Here's your Ayato x Yui moment, enjoy~

Thanks for reading!


	11. Chapter 11: New Calibre

**New ****Calibre**

_Time flows endlessly.  
New things unfold._

* * *

Maybe it was difficult to make such choices. Choices that may make the one you love scream and weep, though it was for the best. Or take the path that will satisfy them, but break you down slowly as you are the only one who can see your doomed fate either way. That was Sasaki Koujirou's predicament. Although he would have chose the former option a few minutes ago, that radiating smile that he saw, one that he was going to destroy, made him stop and think. Was it worth it to make her saddened because he wanted the demon dead, for the sake of _his _own revenge? His enemy was his favourite mercenary as well; even he would be disappointed with her death. What Koujirou failed to realise was that Terumi's main concern was the high possibility of _his_ death. Alone in his messy room, the vampire hunter continued to ponder over his choices for the night. He still had a bit of time to continue thinking.

* * *

Her back. It burns. The sun didn't need to peel off her skin for her to feel the fiery pain. Groans of pain and fidgety noises were made in the room, illuminated by purely the full moon. Old wounds, to be precise, four bullet scars that were embedded deeply into her skin felt the worst; her current self fluctuated from the past to the present with the memories that flooded her almost too suddenly.

"AuuGGGhhHHh...aaaaUUUGHhhHHh..."

Her moans dragged out horrendously, as if she were the living dead. In the presence of her panicked brothers who scrambled around the mansion to assist her, Ruki stayed by her side. This was the worst night of all. In no way in the past did she writhe in so much pain, nor did her eye colour fade in from greyish-blue to a shining amber. Right now, she was absolutely concentrated with power. One wrong move and everyone in the vicinity- no, everything in the vicinity would be obliterated, like a nuclear explosion. That included the destruction of her body as well.

"Shit! Where are the suppressants?" Yuma had arrived at his sister's small room, alongside Azusa.

"It should be on her desk."

In a rush, they scrambled towards her table for the familiar syringe. Their eyes settled upon the item, filled with a clear red liquid. Azusa noted that they never paid much attention to what she was injecting into herself.

"It looks like blood, but the smell is weird." The meek brother stated. Yuma merely nodded as he pulled him along towards the door, with no time to waste.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kou was in his own room, smiling sheepishly while he held onto his phone. He placed it a slight bit away from his ear when he heard a voice rumble in confusion. Kou responded with a half-hearted laugh.

"C'mon, I just need you to make it. You've got the ingredients and recipe, you just need to make it!"

"I can, but I really need to know what you need it for." The man on the phone huffed. "Since you're giving it to a person, shouldn't it be toned down? Maybe if you'd-"

"No can do! It's a secreeeeet!" Kou interrupted quickly, getting annoyed at how long the conversation was taking. Time was ticking.

"Haaah... fine. Listen, you better pay up. If anything goes wrong, tell me. And all responsibility is on you." The voice sighed in defeat.

"Thank you Reiji-kun! Seriously!" His eyes shot up in relief to hear the results. "Make it quick, like right now okay? We need it _right now. _"

"Okay." Kou put down the call once he heard Reiji's approval. Now they just need to wait.

"What's up with Kou..." Reiji grumbled as he set the test tubes up. "If I read the recipe correctly, the recipient is most likely not human at all."

* * *

_"We need to run! Get into the woods!" Ruki yelled as he looked back to see his four friends running behind him. Quite close on the tail was a group was angry adults, one of them wielding a gun. He knew things would get rough._

_"If I stay behind...Fuyuki-chan's barrier would work better right? Then I..."_

_"Shut up Azusa, we won't leave you behind!" Bear snapped, breathing heavily. _

_"...__**repel.**__" Her cold voice sent shivers down their spine. In a moment, their pursuers fell a few feet backwards. They sat on the ground in shock before turning towards the children, who were supposedly unequipped._

_"The barrier's down for 5 seconds!" Kou informed as he rushed forward with them. He whipped out a gun from his pocket, one that he stole from his 'client'. With determination, the blond shot at the man who had the weapon. Unfortunately, it only hit a tired pursuer. This spurred on their anger, much to their dismay. Kou's eye widened as he saw a bullet flying in his direction. While he was awaiting the pain and shock, it didn't come at all._

_"Fu-Fuyuki? Hey! Are you okay?!" He panicked as he saw a patch on her back soak red._

_"I'm...fine." She mumbled. Fuyuki wasn't in a state for talking as all her power was on running and spells._

_"__**Flare.**__" A blinding light engulfed the surroundings behind, giving them more delay._

_"Barrier down for 3 seconds!" Kou had learnt most of her abilities, to the point he knew the duration of it's cool-down. He was the first one who met her, after all. The children hopped over a large rock, fortunately not tripping. _

_"I'll remove the bullet and mend you while we're at it." Ruki slowed down, allowing Bear to take lead. The leader carefully removed the bullet, cleaning the wound with his sleeve. "I can't do much for now."_

_"Fuck this rock!" A deep voice from behind rumbled. It was getting dangerously dark and they were getting tired. Fuyuki especially- she wouldn't last for long. They were already quite deep into the forest._

_"He probably has three bullets left, since he shot 2 just now. His pistol has 5 rounds." Azusa informed them as he removed the bandage that was around his arm, handing it to Ruki._

_"Its getting dark, I can't aim either..." Kou cursed at his lack of abilities. Looking back, only two pursuers were left. They just had to lose them and everything would be complete._

_"Gotcha, brats!" A shot came again, this time at Ruki. _

_"Shit- no, not her...!" Once again, Fuyuki had sacrificed her back to protect whatever she had left in her forsaken life. She flinched before pulling the bullet out herself, tossing it aside violently. _

_"Two bullets left...Fuyuki-chan, are you okay?" Azusa inquired._

_"Mana's helping me..." She mumbled silently as a response. Even though it was cruel, it was for the best if she was damaged as she could tolerate the pain and live it out more longer than the rest of them._

_"...I'LL JUST HAVE TO TAKE THEM ALL DOWN!" The man was desperate, his pride crushed by the escaping orphans. He could not accept this. Shooting again, two shots this time, he aimed at the other two boys- Bear and Azusa._

_"I'll block...but you guys will be on your own then..." Fuyuki's voice cracked with emotion. _

_It all happened in slow motion. The way it pierced into her cruelly, slowly, painfully. The way her eyes shot up, yet not showing any signs of discomfort. The way she dropped onto the soil, her blue orbs still wide open, yet empty and cold. Ruki could only turn his head away, holding back his tears. Yuma on the other hand, did not hesitate to scream at the site of his friend dying. Kou's face darkened with absolute hate. Azusa bit his lip till blood drew out of it, silently wishing for her to at least crawl towards them._

_No. The blond boy screamed in rage as he saw the man step over her body like a piece of garbage on the ground, shooting mercilessly at him. Fortunately, their armed pursuer tumbled onto the ground as well, writhing in pain. One more left. _

_Fuyuki's breath was shallow. She was barely alive- the only thing she had left was the mana coursing through her veins- mana that was passed over the decades. As she smiled bitterly, her body covered with dirt, she wished her friends the best. Coldness. Darkness. Sounds of footsteps._

_A well-dressed man hovered over the young girl's body with curiosity. Picking her up, he wiped her face, removing the dirt. His white hair tickled her scratched face, causing her to open her eyes a little. _

_"Well, my child. I am Karl Heinz- your parents must have mentioned me before."_

_His deep voice reassured her despite her distrust for strangers. She meekly nodded in agreement._

_"You'll live a new life soon. Just trust me."_

* * *

"RuuUu...kKiIii..." She stared at her brother, disturbing yet concerning. "This- is worst...than any other... remembering... wounds..."

Her older brother couldn't take it any more. He knew what she was talking about. That time when they all escaped that dreaded place- she sacrificed herself. It was always her that had to suffer the most for their benefit because she was the strongest. But, how could she be the strongest mentally without their support?

Ruki took her into his arms in a tight embrace, his own heart beating erratically because he did not know what she was capable of doing at this state. Fortunately, Yuma and Azusa came rushing down the stairs, injecting the suppressant into her neck. Her breathing calmed down for a bit. Kou was preparing to leave the moment he would receive a call from Reiji.

"This is less effective than usual, but Kou should be able to grab the chemicals in time." She breathed calmly, reverting back to her usual state of emptiness. They sighed in relief- but her eyes were now stuck in their amber colour indicating that her body was still surging with explosive power that was not in her control. "Since I remember and that this was so strong...this might be the last night of my transformation."

Humans to demons. It was a hugely different context from vampire transformation. To completely change, it takes time to receive the power. So, moments of immense pain and overpowering mana occur every full moon until the cycle is complete. After all, demons were powerful beings- transformation required a lot of specifications.

"Is that so...oh? Kou has left." Azusa pulled his sister away from Ruki's protective grasp and hugged her in relief, though his poker face was still on. "Maeki-chan's hair is soft as usual."

"Your smell is reeking a little." Yuma turned his eyes away shamefully. "I'm, uh..."

"So you were so worried about the full moon that you didn't eat properly. Huhu- ouch." Fuyuki nonchalantly said before a pillow was thrown at her face.

"I-I was worried okay? Argh, I can't control my anger-"

"Azusa, is Yuma on his period?" She asked sarcastically with a straight face.

"I don't know Maeki-chan. Maybe we should ask him." He responded back as calmly.

"Damn, your looks are deceiving!" Yuma shouted.

Indeed, the two cuddling each other in similar outfits, with the same hair shade and emotionless faces may seem kind of cute- two poker-faced siblings together. Nobody would know they had an inner demon inside them.

"Don't spur her on too much. I still want a house to live in." Ruki pulled Yuma back down onto his seat.

"I'M BACK MAEKI!" Almost screaming, Kou flew his way towards the girl and set a purple flask into her hands. "Your eyes, they-"

Without any delays, she poured the liquid down her throat. Fuyuki laid down on Azusa's chest as her eyes faded back to blue, tiredly sighing. Raising her hand up, she clenched it.

"I feel...great." She mumbled. "I should be able to kick Sasaki's ass."

* * *

Authors Notes: AHAHAHA I HAVE REVIVED FROM THE DEPTHS OF HELL.

Writer's block guys, my bad. Finally the full moon arrives after its probably only mention in Chapter 1 (derp). I'm so sorry...I even went onto make another fanfic while I was at it... *drownsinownblood*

Suggestions very very very APPRECIATED!

R&amp;R, thankzzzzz.


	12. Chapter 12: Sinner's Blood

**Sinner's Blood**

_If you would like to cut me,  
Let me cut you too._

* * *

An image. Faded away, not as clear as it should be. The scene was playing like an old film. A young boy in a garden. His face couldn't be seen but he held a small knife in his hand. His hair...black, quite messy. And he was standing in a field of white roses.

There was the sound of skin being cut, but the images became more blurry. Only when a single rose was bloodied red that it went back to it's previous clarity. Still blur, though. His blank face turned towards her. The boy topped his head with a red beret, walking towards her. She couldn't move.

"..."

"-ma's -n-fe"

His voice was choppy and indistinguishable.

"-rp and sl-k"

She was getting scared of him.

"Y- too"

What was he saying? Will he stab her? It may be a nightmare...but it's still terrifying.

"You'll stab yourself too."

* * *

Yui's eyes snapped open. Dreams weren't the best for her since she started living in this mansion. Her body had broken out in cold sweat, her mind still lingering back to the faceless boy she had seen. She felt as if she passed by someone similar before.

"Mmm...?Chichinashi, what are you doing? Don't move away..."

"Huh?"

At first, she was a bit confused about why Ayato was using her as a body pillow. She looked around her room, trying to remember what happened. A weird smell was in the air. Their clothes were on the floor...

And then it hit her.

Looking back at Ayato, he was shirtless. Yui herself wasn't decently dressed and small kiss and bite marks littered her body. Even though they had "done the deed" a few times, she was still embarrassed everytime she saw the aftermath.

"Stop looking around, idiot." Ayato grumbled, sitting up to see that she seemed quite pale. "Oi, you're sweating. Did you see a nightmare?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"Hmph. Be reminded that ore-sama is still beside you, so there is no need to fear." He announced, before softly pecking his lips against hers. "I command you to go back to sleep."

"Hehe. Okay."

She felt safe after that. Ayato was rather violent and complacent, but his childishness made him cute at times. Also, he'd comfort her in so many ways...it was nice to see him act that way.

But there was another thing she didn't get. That dream was something that she needed to remember, for it may be her only hope when some things happen.

* * *

That mysterious woman in the garden he trespassed could be a threat to his life. The more weaker she got physically, the more menacing and creepy she became mentally. He'd seen her before, without the vampire injures.

The more you hurt her, the more desperate she'll become. And when that woman was desperate, it was as if she tried to steal books of people's lives, using them for her beloved vampire hunter. Although on the surface, she seemed as if she were a determined informant, in Subaru's eyes, he saw something else.

A mindless doll who lived to ruin lives. It was long ago that her feelings were bitten off her. In the most literal manner.

Even before her legs were disabled.

Subaru could place a bet that Terumi had given up her legs to a vampire on purpose for the sake of the valuable information she could obtain. And for such obscure information, like his private life, she'd got those extra bites.

Not only her legs. There were a few more recent bites on her neck that mixed up the scent she was pointing out to. He had to be directly on her neck to snuff out whoever it was. And that lady just smelled horrible with all sorts of different people sinking their teeth into her skin. What's worse- she didn't care.

And to be honest, he didn't want to do anything for this creepy woman. Not only that, touching his two brother's _friend and rival _would probably bring him bad three of his brothers actually, if pestering and mocking each other everyday was considered friendship.

He just hoped that if that Maeno Fuyuki girl would kill the vampire hunter, she should kill this handicapped informant as well.

* * *

"Bitch-chan, when do I get to meet your friend?" Raito whined for the third time. He just wanted to see if he could mess with that stone faced girl; to make her show a wonderful expression. Yui could only sigh at his pestering. She also felt bad for him- because he'd become a victim to the troll.

"Shut up, Raito! You're so noisy!" Ayato was getting pissed off by the noise. It was ridiculous that someone would grow interested in "Weirdoyuki"- she ruined his 'peaceful days' of class. For example: she almost made him bald, almost kicked him off the roof, managed to steal Yui away from him and all sorts of things.

Worst person on Earth. At least one of them.

"Raito, stop disturbing our ride." Reiji pushed up his glasses as he coughed. "Save this for once we leave this car."

"Tchhhh, mood spoiler."

"Why are you so interested to know her?" Yui knew parts to his answer, but didn't understand why he'd want to meet her so badly.

"Because I'm bored! Unless you want me to steal you from Ayato? I'd be more than pleased~"

"Don't even **think **about touching her." Ayato growled from the side.

Raito chuckled at how his younger brother was much more protective of her after the problem was solved. Maybe Yui could have been handed over to him if the other red head screwed up, but that didn't happen after all. It was a significant development for both of them, but can Ayato keep up with this? Raito doubted it.

He just needed to sit back and watch it all unfold.

* * *

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

A more improved version of this story is being posted here: winternovels. wordpress .com  
The plot goes differently, and it could be said that it is an alternative route. I'm not sure which one I want to consider canon yet. There's only the 1st Chapter (as of 22/6/15) up, so please read it.  
I'm still posting here btw.

Authors Notes: Because everyone needs some dosage of romance every few chapters or so. Even I do.

Sorry for the slow posting + my writing getting sloppier. I'm quite busy at the moment.

Thank You for Reading!

R&amp;R ApppreEEEcciIIIAAAted!


	13. Chapter 13: Illuminate

**Illuminate**

_Be it by good or evil,  
The world shall still shine._

* * *

They stood at the park, face to face. No one was there, and even if there was- they were shrouded with a mystic force. If either dies, no one would know. If either wins, no one would know. And the reasons, be it good or evil, shall not matter. Because someone will still be hurt, and there will still be problems.

But the both of them were willing to set that on the line, and prepared for their battle to death.

Koujirou, still in his blue yukata, gave a wry smile as he drew his katana from his side. He muttered a few incantations before his weapon began to glow in a blue light, as if a flame had engulfed it. His opponent was unfazed by this spectacle, but her eyes grew wary.

Empty handed, she merely reached a hand out into the sky. As if the heavens opened, a scythe formed in the air and dropped into her hands. It was glowing as well, but with a purple light. The vampire hunter's eyes widened, but he kept his cool.

"Demon... you've really fallen deep, haven't you? Have you lost all your human senses?"

"Well, vampire hunter. Have you even realised that your potential girlfriend is a crazy nut?"

"What? Are talking about Terumi? She's no "crazy nut"."

"Sorry bro. I've heard that neck of hers just stinks."

Without any other words, Koujirou had launched himself towards her and swung his sword upwards. She clashed her scythe against the blade, the force making Koujiro fly back a little. He did not allow this to delay him further, so once again, he spun his sword with rapid movements, trying to at least scratch the girl.

Fuyuki was aware of his intentions. That blue flame would steal the mana that flowed through her blood and even though it would be regenerated, it would take time. If she ran out, her weapon would disappear and so would abilities- and she'd be like a mere human. At the same time, her scythe's purple flame was like acid: it would corrode the skin of humans easily.

Her eyes widened as she barely dodged a sudden bullet that flew past her hair. In his left hand, the hunter had whipped out a barrette. It was clear that he didn't have a lot of bullets, but if she was hit, a lot of her energy would be stolen. Since her scythe was bulky, she couldn't afford to lose against the speed-orientated man.

"Think twice about who you fight against, Demon! I'll slice you up to bits!"

He almost managed to hit the girl in her shoulder, but once again, she managed to blow him away. Using the distance and recoil to her advantage, she dashed towards him in one step.

Her scythe made a clean cut up his shoulder, his right arm immediately detaching from his body as it was thrown onto the sandy ground. Koujirou groaned painfully as his blood spluttered, tears forming as he saw that his arm was gone. The skin and meat that came into contact with the scythe was sizzling.

Making use of Fuyuki's recovery time, he injected an unknown liquid into his neck. As if a miracle, skin began to grow over his injury, covering it up into a few seconds.

"Accelerating the growth of your mana cells, huh. Technology has indeed caught up with times..."

With his increased speed, he once again threw a rapid amount of strikes to her. Unable to block everything, Fuyuki wrist was slashed. Although it wasn't much, she could feel the energy leave her. The wound healed itself quickly, as if it was never there. Seeing that he would be tired due to the drug soon enough, Fuyuki smirked.

"Your time is limited."

Pissed at her reaction, Koujirou increased the mana flowing into his weapon, making it able to steal her mana whenever she was in close range. She simply clicked her tongue as she stepped backwards, allowing him to chase after her.

"TAKE THIS!"

Caught off guard, her left wrist dropped onto the ground beside her feet. She did not flinch or cry, but simply kicked it back up to her hand whilst still holding her weapon. Somehow managing to reattach it while dodging Koujirou's full blown attacks, she once again swung her scythe upwards. A clean cut was made upon his torso, making him scream in both pain and fury. The force in his repeated attacks had made a crack in his katana, as well as the overwhelming power it was given.

He was emotionally distraught. His eyes were soaked with tears that constantly dripped down his face, and Fuyuki recognised that expression well: he was afraid to die. Just like the day they first met, in that room where she had killed a vampire with the very same weapon.

_"I'm a mercenary, so just find me or call me up when you need." Placing a business card on both Yasouka and Koujirou's hands, she nodded with satisfaction._ _And with that, she faded from the night. _

His blows were getting flimsy and rushed. It was as if he were desperate, as well as unsure of whether he wanted to kill her. Today, he wasn't killing the vampire he hates. Today, he is going to kill or be killed by a demon, his favourite mercenary- a friend. Yes, he had considered her a friend.

_The remaining corpse of the vampire started to dissipating, as if burning away. A white trail of smoke emitted from it. _

Not even ashes. He, Sasaki Koujirou, was to die without a trace. How could he not feel conflicted over this? But, he couldn't give in. He couldn't allow his goals to fall down the drain. So he kept his mouth shut, hiding all the feelings that bottled up inside him.

"Don't be hesitant, keep moving."

She urged him on, her voice sounding rather tired. Both of them were already running low. But, it was seriously dangerous for Koujirou. The drug was wearing off, and he could now feel the fatigue eating his mind. That was it.

"Maeno-san, please don't sublimate me... please tell Terumi that I loved her."

He removed and dropped his Rosario onto the ground, charging the remaining of his energy into his last movements. Failing to pierce through the demon's body, his katana dropped onto the ground, shattered into pieces.

"It was an honour to fight you."

She simply sliced through his torso horizontally, but not too deeply that it would set him apart. His lifeless body dropped onto the ground and bled continuously, but he was somehow at peace.

Suddenly the place felt cool and tranquil, the forest trees swaying around them and the moonlight being the only thing that illuminated the area. Despite it being summer, the winds were somehow cooling. A single leaf settled down on his peaceful face, covering his eyes. One by one, fireflies hovered about the place, as if they were candle lights.

Her weapon dissipated as she set herself on her knees, staring at her usual client's corpse. Although she did not believe that a higher being existed, she closed her eyes and sent blessings to the man to show respect. Then, she picked up the Rosario he left and placed it in her pocket.

Standing up, she dug into another pocket and revealed a test tube. With that, she poured it over his body, waiting for it to burn its way into ashes. She collected the ashes and places it into the test tube, labelling it with a sticker of a Japanese flag.

"I won't be getting much money from now on." She sighed in disappointment.

* * *

"Here you go."

Terumi stared at the tube of ashes and the Rosario she was given. They went through with it and the expected results were given: Koujirou died. She felt as she was living for no reason. All these hardships she went through, so that he'd notice her and stay by her. So that he wouldn't just come home to think about vampires but to think about her. So that he'd be happy and proud of her when she had the intelligence. The thought drove her crazy. Koujirou is dead, he's dead.

"K-Kou-Koujirou, a-ahhhhh..."

"Oh yeah, he also wanted me to tell you this: Tell Terumi that I loved her. That's it, good night."

"Is that...all you have to say when you've killed someone?"

"Is that all you have to say when you've lied to someone?"

Fuyuki gave her an all-knowing smile before leaving the courtyard. All the wheel-chaired woman could do was stare into the night sky, realising all she'd done. If the matter was looked at deeply...

Wasn't she the cause of Koujirou's death?

She purposely got bitten and set Koujirou off, after all. Terumi fell off her wheelchair and wept uncontrollably. Already broken, but broken even more. Unable to kneel properly due to her disability, she continued to cry hysterically on the ground, wishing that he would somehow be brought back to life.

* * *

Authors Notes: Long time no see! I've been writing an alternate route for this series, and it can be found here! I really didn't know what to write any more, but I've got a kick back again so it'll be fine...I guess? Oh well. Get ready for some romantic fluff next chapter, since this one was rather painful!

Thanks for reading! R&amp;R really appreciated! (isrslyneedthem)


	14. Chapter 14: Despairing the Light

**Despairing the Light**

_Even the darkness is more comforting,  
than the horrible light that shine upon you._

* * *

A young Terumi sat by the garden again, swinging her feet back and forth as she eyed the boy with yukata, who came to sit by her. She turned her head away from him, but seeing his facial expression, she panicked and looked at him. In his hands was a scroll instead of the usual Japanese Literature book he always had. Koujirou bit his lip in anger, silently passing it to her.

"Terumi...from today on, you..." He sucked in a breath. "...Are my informant."

She blinked a few times before her eyes widened. In excitement. But she knew why Koujirou was so hesitant and upset about it. His parents obviously set this up, making them know each other from young so that she was someone they could trust. It couldn't be helped anyway, since she came from a family of informants.

"Koujirou, I won't die so easily." She held his hand gently, as he choked back a few tears. "Don't be sad."

"You don't get it." He hicked. "Yuushi-san died you know, he died protecting my dad and that man doesn't even care."

"I know."

"That's how they're treating your existence! If you're an informant, my shield...then you're not even human any more...!" His eyes shot up and he felt her arms around him. Terumi placed his head on her shoulder to comfort him.

"I admired Yuushi-san since I first met him. He was such a bright and funny guy, and he was smart too. As an informant he did so well and your father seemed to like him as well. I'm sure he just doesn't express it well, like you. Human or not, I'm still your friend. Isn't that enough?"

"Idiot, you're too easy about this. Usually Yuushi-san will be like: Oho, I'm a genius so it's fine! Aha...what am I doing..."

"That was a good impersonation. You're good at copying him as per usual, but I like the normal Koujirou better. I guess I've got to call you Sasaki-dono in the premises. Right, Sasaki-dono?"

"Don't call me that when we're alone. Promise me that."

"I promise."

* * *

They were praying in front of a grave, the rain pouring onto them relentlessly. They had no umbrella, and yet they had not budged from their place. Koujirou's face was struck with a tortured expression, yet no tears were coming out of his eyes. Beside him, Terumi could only stare at the grave stone that wrote the name of Koujirou's first vampire hunting partner. Losing such a person was hard. Yuushi was already a fine example.

As friends they were great. But as comrades, the two failed the dead man greatly. They underestimated their opponent and ended up almost dead but he jumped in to save them. A mission success, but the loss of a man's life was much more than that. No one else other then them cared much though. Terumi felt a heavy weight on her heart. She failed to get enough information, so he died...

"Terumi don't blame yourself."

" Koujirou, I didn't do my job well. That's why Kousaka-"

"Don't blame yourself."

"..."

How would she get enough information? There wasn't any ways for her to get anything with her physical abilities or what so not. Just what was there...just anything. If it meant saving her friend, the man she loved and the people that were close to her, she'll do it. So that next time there will be no casualties.

* * *

All the methods didn't work and now she was waiting for her target to arrive. This was the last resort. Time was running out on her. All she needed to do is figure out about the vampire groups that were around this area and their actions. Soon enough, a young man with a hood on came by her.

"Yo young miss. You're offering your blood for the info, no?"

"Correct. Go ahead if you must- just tell me everything you know."

"I like your conviction. Are you sure you're not cheating on your man? He seemed pretty peeved when you told him you were out to meet another man."

"I'm not dating him and... this is what I do for him."

"Ahaha, okay then. Oh, such unblemished skin... your first time given willingly to me, how rare. I like your personality, so I'll tell you all you want."

He slowly pierced into her neck, watching her wince in pain as he drew blood from her. Indeed she was rare, showing such a stubborn expression despite the pain. The vampire drank mercifully, even patching up her wound after he was done. Terumi's face was pale and tired by then.

"Why... are you sparing me?" She asked weakly, only having a smile returned.

"Because I like your spunk. Now of the information..."

* * *

It had been going well all these years and to suddenly hear that her best informant had died by the hands of a demon. Koujirou was after him, but she made sure the two wouldn't die but she never knew that a mercenary demon would be hired to kill him. And now, she was being chased down by a half-vampire: the one that he turned. She did remember him mentioning about revenge, but she never thought that she would be the one hunted down.

"You...you're Vidro's friend..."

Terumi's feet could only force itself forward as the crazy chaser behind her continued to hunt her down. If anything, she must at least reach into the safe zone where her home was so that they could kill him in time. She mustn't die there. Not when Koujirou was still alive and waiting for her to come home for dinner. As she saw the corner where the gates were...

"AHHHHHHH!"

A werewolf bit down on her feet, pulling her down all together. Since she was already tired from running, it easily tore her tendons off, making her scream in excruciating pain. The half-vampire laughed hysterically, slowly approaching her as she suffered. If she felt pain, it would be his pleasure. A dying human. A dying-

"TERUMI! YOU FUCKING BASTARD, I'LL KILL YOU!"

A sword immediately went through his body, a blue flame engulfing it. As it withdrew from his body, it also cut the werewolf into half, making it dissipate. Koujirou worriedly ran towards the heavily injured woman, whose legs could move no longer. The vampire hunter suddenly noted of all the other wounds on her body, though unaware of where they came from.

"Koujirou...Koujirou, I can't walk...I can't feel my feet..."

"Hang in there. I beg you just stay with me okay?"

"Yes..." She pulled on his sleeve as he carried her in his arms, calling for the guards to deal with the situation as he rushed her to the treatment room. If he only knew that this was due to her affiliation with vampires, sacrificing her blood for information...oh how he would hate to hear that.

* * *

Now Terumi was all alone. Evertime, someone important dies in the summer. First is Yuushi, then Kousaka, followed by Vidro and now? Koujirou. How did she not notice this coming? In some way or another their deaths were all related to her. Everyone who mattered died. Was there anything else that mattered any more? Sure, there was her brother, but he didn't know whatever was going on.

He lived a peaceful, happy life. Another thing was that his best friend was the one who killed Vidro. Perhaps she hated Kouji, but if anything, she would say that he held a certain importance to her. In the end they were siblings after all. So at the very least, she should tell him goodbye. So there were no regrets. The world is cruel, after all.

"So you're sleeping deeply... you're using Koujirou's yukata as a blanket? Heh, I'm jealous. Well, sweet dreams and...goodbye."

She rolled her wheelchair back to her room, where her futon was ripped to pieces by her hysterical outbreak at the sight of Koujirou's ashes and his pendant, which she left by Kouji's side. Her logical sense began disappearing again, a load of screaming filling up her head. If she was going to live like this, with these horrible voices inside her head...

Terumi held a silver knife in her hands.

She plunged it into her chest.

* * *

Authors Notes: A full Terumi flashback to briefly show you how she got to this point, and her solution to Koujirou's death. People die, and we know that as facts. It's unfortunately true isn't it? She isn't completely crazy yet, but she is on the path to insanity indeed. Subaru-kun, your wish as been granted! (Go check the previous chapters again if you don't remember what I'm talking about).

I'm back from hell. Again.

Thanks for reading! R&amp;R very much appreciated! (pls)


	15. Chapter 15: Birth and Death

**Birth and Death**

_People die.  
People live.  
People are born._

_That's just how it is._

* * *

Kouji's absence from school was no surprise. Following up Koujirou's death was the apparent suicide of the manic Terumi, who was lost without the man she loved. Fuyuki was acutely aware of the fact that she was a major factor of the woman losing her mind in the first place: Koujirou's group leader hiring her to kill Vidro, the vampire who was Terumi's informant. It followed with her other missions to kill other vampires, some of them being her source of information. Either way, it was too late to rewind. That was how it is.

There were no club activities for the day, but Fuyuki simply decided to stay back in the Band Room either way since she had nothing better to do. She had invited Yui over as well, so she patiently awaited her arrival, that was most probably delayed by some annoying and spoilt vampires. Her brothers were busy in preparation for the plan to commence, so she decided to do her part as well: gain Yui's trust. It upped the chances of her not escaping their mansion, and Fuyuki knew how to limit her brothers so they won't kill her, so it was double points.

As she slid her fingers over the strings of her guitar, the door slid open. Yui was tiredly panting, looking across the hallways before shutting the door quickly behind her. She trudged over to the couch and immediately landed herself on it.

"I'm...sorry...for being...late..." She breathed heavily from all the running that she did. Fuyuki patted her back lightly, getting up to serve her some cold herbal tea and maple cookies. Yui smiled at the automatic habits of serving her guests, warmed by Fuyuki's natural hospitality. It made her feel at home.

"Rest up a bit. Ayato must've chased you down again, so be sure to give him some attention when you get home."

"Yes, I understand that..." She sighed deeply again. Now that her relationship with Ayato had grown stronger, it made it harder for them to capture her. But, now that she also has more authority now and can spend some time by herself, the possibilities were also heightened.

"Let's cool off with some music. How about we play some jazz?" Fuyuki smiled gently. Yui wished she could snap a picture of that moment, but she simply heeded to her friend's words, taking her place at the piano.

"Wait, you can play the saxophone?"

"Was forced to." She pulled the cloth away from the instrument, placing it in her hands. "Not everyone is approving of a guitar."

...

_suki na mono wo suki na dake  
atsu me tsunagi kazari tatete  
kono chiisana heya kara  
koyoi o todoke shimasu_

_one room, all that jazz !_

_..._

Just as Fuyuki said, Yui felt her spirit livened up as they finished the song. Unexpectedly, Fuyuki was drinking some root beer to energise herself. Usually it was just some various forms of tea or fruit juice. She also noticed that Fuyuki wasn't wearing her striped stockings today as well, and that her guitar was not really used even before she got here. To end this off, Kouji was absent.

"Did something happen to Rito-kun? You don't seem to be in the best of spirits."

"Thanks for the concern, but the problem isn't really with me. He's going through some hardship right about now. More like, since the moment he woke up." Finishing the bottle of root beer, she threw it into the bin from where she was.

"...I guess it's not in my right to know about such private details, sorry." Yui suspected that he woke up the news that one of his relatives had passed away- not that she was cursing him in any way, but it seemed like one of the more likely scenarios.

"We've lazed about for a while now. Wanna go out to get some taiyaki? It's summer after all."

"Yes, sure!"

* * *

If waking up to an odd jar full of ash and a suicide note next to you wasn't worst enough, how about finding the corpse of the person you cared about so much right after? The jar had Koujirou's name written on it, and Terumi had a knife driven into her chest. When he screamed for his parents to come over, they gave the most coldest looks he'd ever seen, merely telling him to call over some servants to arrange the funerals and to deal with Terumi's corpse. He passed over Koujirou's ashes, though he hid his sister's note within his pockets. There was much he was oblivious to. That, he knew well. Today was the day he was meant to absorb all the secrets, and Kouji knew his mind was already crushing from the pressure.

He was just a boy excited to spend another day with his best friend in school. Kouji loved his life simply like that. But realising how both Koujirou and Terumi reacted to her appearance in their house, he couldn't help but think that she was part of all this as well. If he could just run to her right now, he would. Obviously he couldn't do that now.

His soft, brown eyes were bloodshot from the excessive crying. But he sat dignified, waiting for whatever that was going to be told to him. His father merely set a book down in front of him, making him all the more confused.

"Read it, and you'll understand everything. Ask if you don't understand anything and-" He paused. "Tell us once you've completed it."

Kouji stared long and hard at the thin notebook he was given. Was something this small going to change his life forever? Flipping it open, he felt a strong pang in his heart when he recognised the handwriting. It was small, slightly curvy words written out in straight lines, an elegant flow to it. Most certainly, it was Koujirou's handwriting. It became certain that it was actually his diary, the entries starting from around 5 years ago with a few skipped days or weeks. 5 days of entry were squeezed into one page.

_I met the mercenary demon, Fuyuki. She was the same age as Kouji. It's frightening to see how such a young girl is being used to do such deeds. But again, she is a demon. Her eyes don't reflect a lot of humanity in itself. Why would I even hire her? What's with this business card even? I don't get it._

_Looking back at my previous entry and laugh to myself thinking that I wouldn't hire her at all. She's efficient and professional, does her job cleanly. I like talking with her as well. What's best is that she keeps things safe and quick, I enjoy that. Vampires are tough beings, so I really like her around when I'm injured. _

_Terumi got injured again and it's worrying me. Vampires really like her blood, so one day she might not even be able to leave the house. That is the last thing she'd ever want. I'm lucky that I'm Fuyuki's exclusive client. This way I can look over Terumi and Kouji. I take back my words about her being young, I've heard she's centuries old._

_Kouji seems extremely happy with Fuyuki's company. I understand the sentiment, but he shouldn't be exposed to more danger. She's not listening to me this time. Also, she keep protecting that half-vampire that hurt Terumi so badly... this is not good._

_I know I will regret fighting her and will probably wound up dead. I'm sad that I couldn't reach Takagi-san's level, but I'm grateful to have met Terumi and Kouji._

Demons, vampires, vampire hunter, informants, magic? Pure-bloods and half-bloods? Fuyuki most likely killed Koujirou and she's a demon who's a few centuries old? Also, she kills people, working as a mercenary? He couldn't face his best friend now. Kouji knew that she would be lonely like how he was gone for a holiday last year, but this was different. He might come to hate her. Seeing their friendship as precious, Kouji decided to stay in for a week to come to terms with reality, and to build up his resolve again.

* * *

"Just let me sleep with you tonight, Chichinashi. Don't need to get fussy and violent about it." Ayato grumbled as his face got slapped by a pillow a few times before leaning into her face to stop her. "I can't seem to sleep in my own bed."

"As long as you don't do anything perverted, it's fine..." Her voice trailed off as a mischievous grin formed on his face. Yui knew that she shouldn't have said anything and went to sleep as she had just flicked a switch in Ayato's mind.

"Ho? So you want me to do something perverted to you? I forgot you were such a pervert." His hands roamed towards her hips as she tried to squirm away from him. She flinched when his teeth grazed her finger. "Don't think you can escape ore-sama."

"Ayato-kun, let's just go to sleep already! I'm tired." Yui complained, combing her fingers through his hair. He let out a satisfied sigh, his grip loosening, though still holding onto her.

"I can't really sleep if I don't do this." A slight blush crept up his cheeks as she continued to ruffle his hair, pulling her body towards his. He curled up, his eye-lids now half covered as he was being lulled to sleep. "Let me bite you, Chichinashi."

"No." She pouted and turned away, making Ayato whine tiredly. "You're getting tired too, so go to sleep okay?"

"Tch. You'll pay for this tomorrow morning." He succumbed to her warmth, placing his head on her shoulder. Yui was happy to see that he was at least calmer now when it came to displaying his affection towards her. Maybe that jazz song from earlier did give her some luck for the day. She fell asleep soon after, thinking of how great a friend Fuyuki was.

* * *

Authors Notes: The cogs have started turning, and now Kouji knows what's going on. What do you think about this development? Also, do note that I have an alternate route for this fanfic on this site as well (Demon Exploit -plus-). Maybe you'll like it there! To end the moody the chapter on a more light-hearted note, a small Yui x Ayato scene for you. It feels a bit OOC on Ayato's part to me but that's what I see when she pats his head- he gets all dere and shit. There's that one CG where he's blushing and hugging her or something right?

Yeah. Tryin to update as much as possible.


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